The Census of Israel’s Warriors

Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on (A)the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, (B)Take a [a]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head from (C)twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall [b]count them by their armies. With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, (D)each one head of his father’s household. These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: (E)of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; of the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; of the tribe of Judah, (F)Nahshon the son of Amminadab; of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10 of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11 of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12 of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13 of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14 of Gad, Eliasaph the son of (G)Deuel; 15 of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. 16 These are the men who were (H)called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the (I)heads of [c]divisions of Israel.”

17 So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18 and they assembled all the congregation on the (J)first day of the second month. Then they registered by (K)ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19 just as (L)the Lord had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

20 (M)Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 21 their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

22 (N)Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, (O)whoever was able to go to war, 23 their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

24 (P)Of the sons of Gad, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 25 their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

26 (Q)Of the sons of Judah, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 27 their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

28 (R)Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 29 their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

30 (S)Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 31 their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

32 (T)Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 33 their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

34 (U)Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 35 their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

36 (V)Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 37 their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

38 (W)Of the sons of Dan, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 39 their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

40 (X)Of the sons of Asher, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 41 their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

42 (Y)Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, 43 their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

44 These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron counted, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household. 45 So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war in Israel, 46 all the numbered men were (Z)603,550.

Levites Exempted

47 (AA)The Levites, however, were not counted among them by their fathers’ tribe. 48 For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying, 49 “Only the tribe of Levi (AB)you shall not count, nor shall you take their [d]census among the sons of Israel. 50 And you shall (AC)appoint the Levites over the [e]tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the [f]tabernacle. 51 (AD)So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But (AE)the [g]layman who comes near it shall be put to death. 52 (AF)So the sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own [h]flag, according to their armies. 53 (AG)But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be (AH)no divine wrath against the congregation of the sons of Israel. (AI)So the Levites shall be responsible for service to the tabernacle of the testimony.” 54 And the sons of Israel did so; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

Arrangement of the Camps

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, (AJ)The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own [i]flag, with the banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the tent of meeting [j]at a distance. Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the flag of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Judah: (AK)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, and his army, their [k]numbered men: 74,600. Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and the leader of the sons of Issachar: (AL)Nethanel the son of Zuar, and his army, their numbered men: 54,400. Then follows the tribe of Zebulun; and the leader of the sons of Zebulun: (AM)Eliab the son of Helon, and his army, his numbered men: 57,400. The total of the numbered men of the camp of Judah: 186,400, by their armies. (AN)They shall set out first.

10 “On the south side shall be the flag of the camp of Reuben by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Reuben: (AO)Elizur the son of Shedeur, 11 and his army, their numbered men: 46,500. 12 And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the leader of the sons of Simeon: (AP)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, 13 and his army, their numbered men: 59,300. 14 Then follows the tribe of Gad; and the leader of the sons of Gad: (AQ)Eliasaph the son of [l]Deuel, 15 and his army, their numbered men: 45,650. 16 The total of the numbered men of the camp of Reuben: 151,450 by their armies. And (AR)they shall set out second.

17 (AS)Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; just as they camp, so they shall set out, every man in his place by their flags.

18 “On the west side shall be the flag of the camp of (AT)Ephraim by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Ephraim: (AU)Elishama the son of Ammihud, 19 and his army, their numbered men: 40,500. 20 Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: (AV)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, 21 and his army, their numbered men, 32,200. 22 Then follows the tribe of (AW)Benjamin; and the leader of the sons of Benjamin: (AX)Abidan the son of Gideoni, 23 and his army, their numbered men, 35,400. 24 The total of the numbered men of the camp of Ephraim: 108,100, by their armies. And (AY)they shall set out third.

25 “On the north side shall be the flag of the camp of Dan by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Dan: (AZ)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, 26 and his army, their numbered men: 62,700. 27 Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the leader of the sons of Asher: (BA)Pagiel the son of Ochran, 28 and his army, their numbered men: 41,500. 29 Then follows the tribe of (BB)Naphtali; and the leader of the sons of Naphtali: (BC)Ahira the son of Enan, 30 and his army, their numbered men: 53,400. 31 The total of the numbered men of the camp of Dan was 157,600. (BD)They shall set out last by their flags.”

32 These are the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households; the total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, (BE)603,550. 33 (BF)The Levites, however, were not counted among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 34 So the sons of Israel did all this; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their flags, and so they set out, everyone by his family according to his father’s household.

Levite Priesthood Established

(BG)Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. (BH)These then are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the (BI)anointed priests, whom he [m]ordained to serve as priests. (BJ)But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the Lord when they offered [n]strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests [o]in the lifetime of their father Aaron.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (BK)Bring the tribe of Levi forward and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. They shall perform the duties for [p]him and for the whole congregation in front of the tent of meeting, to do the (BL)service of the tabernacle. They shall also take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, along with the duties of the sons of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. So you shall (BM)assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons; they are exclusively assigned to him from the sons of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons that (BN)they may [q]keep their priesthood, but (BO)the [r]layman who comes near shall be put to death.”

11 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I (BP)have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every (BQ)firstborn, the firstborn of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 For (BR)all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I fatally struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from the human firstborn to animals. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.”

14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses (BS)in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 [s](BT)Count the sons of Levi by their fathers’ households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall count.” 16 So Moses counted them according to the [t]word of the Lord, just as he had been commanded. 17 (BU)These, then, are the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the (BV)sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei; 19 and the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel; 20 and the sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their fathers’ households.

21 Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites. 22 Their numbered men, in the counting of every male from a month old and upward, their numbered men were 7,500. 23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the [u]tabernacle westward, 24 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Gershonites: Eliasaph the son of Lael.

Duties of the Levites

25 Now (BW)the duties of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting included the tabernacle and (BX)the tent, its covering, and (BY)the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and (BZ)the curtains of the courtyard, (CA)the curtain for the entrance of the courtyard which is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its ropes, according to all the service [v]concerning them.

27 Of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites. 28 In the counting of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, performing the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 and the leader of the fathers’ households of the Kohathite families: [w]Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. 31 Now (CB)their duties included (CC)the ark, (CD)the table, (CE)the lampstand, (CF)the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which they minister, the [x]curtain, and all the service [y]concerning them; 32 and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was the head of the leaders of Levi, and he had the supervision of those who performed the duties of the sanctuary.

33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari. 34 Their numbered men in the counting of every male from a month old and upward: 6,200. 35 And the leader of the fathers’ households of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to (CG)camp on the northward side of the tabernacle. 36 Now the appointment of duties of the sons of Merari included the framework of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, its bases, all its equipment, and all the service concerning them, 37 and the pillars around the courtyard with their bases, their pegs, and their ropes.

38 Now those who were to (CH)camp in front of the tabernacle eastward, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for the obligation of the sons of Israel; but (CI)the [z]layman coming near was to be put to death. 39 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron counted at the [aa]command of the Lord by their families, every male from a month old and upward, were (CJ)twenty-two thousand.

Firstborn Redeemed

40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “(CK)Count every firstborn male of the sons of Israel from a month old and upward, and [ab]make a list of their names. 41 And you (CL)shall take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the cattle of the sons of Israel.” 42 So Moses counted all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded him; 43 and all the firstborn males, by the number of names from a month old and upward for their numbered men, were (CM)22,273.

44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 (CN)Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the Lord. 46 (CO)And as [ac]a redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess of the number of the Levites, 47 you shall take (CP)five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in (CQ)terms of the shekel of the sanctuary ((CR)the shekel is twenty [ad]gerahs), 48 and you shall give the money, the redemption price of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were in excess of the number of those redeemed by the Levites; 50 from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary, 1,365. 51 Then Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons, at the [ae]command of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Duties of the Kohathites

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Take a [af]census of the [ag]descendants of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ households, from (CS)thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, everyone who can enter the service of ministry to do work in the tent of meeting. This is the work of the [ah]descendants of Kohath in the tent of meeting, concerning the most holy things.

“When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down (CT)the veil of the curtain, and cover the (CU)ark of the testimony with it; and they shall place a (CV)covering of [ai]fine leather on it, and spread over it a cloth of pure [aj]violet, and insert its carrying poles. Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of violet and put on it the dishes, the pans, the sacrificial bowls, and the jugs for the drink offering; and (CW)the continual bread shall be on it. And they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet material, and cover the same with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles. Then they shall take a violet cloth and cover the (CX)lampstand for the light, (CY)along with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all its oil containers, by which they attend to it; 10 and they shall put it and all its utensils in a covering of fine leather, and put it on the carrying [ak]bars. 11 Over the golden altar they shall spread a violet cloth, and cover it with a covering of fine leather, and they shall insert its carrying poles; 12 and they shall take all the utensils of service, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a violet cloth and cover them with a covering of fine leather, and put them on the carrying [al]bars. 13 Then they shall clean away the [am]ashes from the (CZ)altar, and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 They shall also put on it all its utensils by which they serve in connection with it: the firepans, the forks, shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread a cover of fine leather over it and insert its carrying poles. 15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them by the poles, so that they will not touch the holy objects (DA)and die. These are the [an]things in the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16 “Now the responsibility of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest is (DB)the oil for the light, the (DC)fragrant incense, (DD)the continual grain offering, and (DE)the anointing oil—the responsibility of all the [ao]tabernacle and everything that is in it, with the sanctuary and its furnishings.”

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18 “Do not let the tribe of the families of the Kohathites be eliminated from among the Levites. 19 Rather, do this for them so that they will live and (DF)not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load; 20 but (DG)they shall not come in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

21 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a [ap]census of the sons of Gershon [aq]also, by their fathers’ households, by their families; 23 from (DH)thirty years old and upward to fifty years old you shall [ar]count them: all who can enter to perform service, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in carrying: 25 they shall carry (DI)the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with its covering and (DJ)the covering of fine leather that is on top of it, and the curtain for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 and (DK)the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance of the gate of the courtyard that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their ropes and all the equipment for their service; and everything that is to be done [as]by them, [at]they shall perform. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites, that is, all their loads and all their work, shall be performed at the [au]command of Aaron and his sons; and you shall assign to them as a duty all their loads. 28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting; and their duties shall be [av]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Duties of the Merarites

29 As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ households; 30 from (DL)thirty years old and upward, even to fifty years old, you shall count them, everyone who can enter the service to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31 Now this is the duty of their loads, for all their service in the tent of meeting: the boards of the tabernacle, its bars, its pillars, and its bases, 32 and the pillars around the courtyard and their bases, their pegs, and their ropes, with all their equipment and with all their service; and you shall assign by names of the men the items [aw]that each is to carry. 33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service in the tent of meeting, [ax]under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

34 So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families and by their fathers’ households, 35 from (DM)thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting. 36 Their numbered men by their families were 2,750. 37 These were the numbered men of the Kohathite families, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the [ay]commandment of the Lord [az]through Moses.

38 And the numbered men of the sons of Gershon by their families and by their fathers’ households, 39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— 40 their numbered men by their families, by their fathers’ households, were 2,630. 41 These were the numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who was serving in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the [ba]commandment of the Lord.

42 And the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari by their families, by their fathers’ households, 43 from (DN)thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter the service for work in the tent of meeting— 44 their numbered men by their families were 3,200. 45 These were the numbered men of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the [bb]commandment of the Lord [bc]through Moses.

46 All the numbered men of the Levites, whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted, by their families and by their fathers’ households, 47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who could enter to do the work of service and the work of carrying in the tent of meeting— 48 their numbered men were (DO)8,580. 49 According to the [bd]commandment of the Lord [be]through Moses, they (DP)were counted, everyone by his serving or carrying; so these were his numbered men, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

On Defilement

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the sons of Israel that they (DQ)send away from the camp everyone with leprosy, everyone having a (DR)discharge, and everyone who is (DS)unclean because of contact with a dead person. You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they do not defile their camp where I dwell (DT)in their midst.” And the sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the Lord had spoken to Moses, that is what the sons of Israel did.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel: ‘(DU)When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the Lord, and that person is guilty, then [bf]he shall (DV)confess [bg]his sin which [bh]he has committed, and he (DW)shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it a fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. But if the person has no [bi]redeemer to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement is made for him. (DX)Also every [bj]contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the priest, shall be his. 10 So every person’s holy gifts shall be his; whatever anyone gives to the priest, it (DY)becomes his.’”

The Adultery Test

11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife (DZ)goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13 and a man has (EA)sexual relations with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she remains undiscovered, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, 14 [bk]if [bl]an attitude of (EB)jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if [bm]an attitude of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, 15 the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as [bn]an offering for her a tenth of an [bo]ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of reminder, (EC)a reminder of wrongdoing.

16 ‘Then the priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord, 17 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware container; and [bp]he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. 18 The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord and let down the hair of the woman’s head, and place the grain offering of reminder [bq]in her hands, that is, the grain offering of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse. 19 And the priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, “If no man has had sexual relations with you and if you have not (ED)gone astray into uncleanness, as you are under the authority of your husband, be [br]immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse; 20 if, however, you have (EE)gone astray, though under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had sexual intercourse with you” 21 (then the priest shall have the woman (EF)swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), “may the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people by the Lords making your thigh [bs]shriveled and your [bt]belly swollen; 22 and this water that brings a curse shall go into your [bu]stomach, to make your belly swell up and your thigh [bv]shrivel.” And the woman (EG)shall say, “Amen, Amen.”

23 ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall [bw]wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 Then he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, so that the water which brings a curse will go into her [bx]and cause bitterness. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar; 26 and (EH)the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its reminder offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it will come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her [by]and cause bitterness, and her belly will swell up and her thigh will [bz]shrivel, and the woman will become (EI)a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be [ca]immune and conceive [cb]children.

29 ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, who is under the authority of her husband, (EJ)goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when [cc]an attitude of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, he shall then have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply all of this law to her. 31 The man, moreover, will be free of [cd]guilt, but that woman shall (EK)bear the consequences of her [ce]guilt.’”

Law of the Nazirites

Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes [cf]a special vow, namely, the vow of (EL)a [cg]Nazirite, to live as a Nazirite for the Lord, he shall (EM)abstain from wine and [ch]strong drink; he shall [ci]consume no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. All the days of his consecration he shall not eat anything that is produced from the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin.

‘All the days of his vow of consecration (EN)no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled which he lives as a Nazirite for the Lord; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

(EO)All the days of his life as a Nazirite for the Lord he shall not come up to a dead person. He (EP)shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his consecration to God is [cj]on his head. All the days of his consecration he is holy to the Lord.

‘But if someone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head of hair, then (EQ)he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; (ER)he shall shave it on the seventh day. 10 Then on the eighth day he shall bring (ES)two turtledoves or two young doves to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 11 And the priest shall offer (ET)one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him [ck]regarding his sin because of the dead person. And on that same day he shall consecrate his head, 12 and shall live his days of consecration as a Nazirite for the Lord, and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the preceding days will [cl]not count, because his consecration was defiled.

13 ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite (EU)when the days of his consecration are fulfilled: he shall bring [cm]his offering to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 14 And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without defect as a burnt offering, one (EV)ewe lamb a year old without defect as a sin offering, one ram without defect as a peace offering, 15 and a basket of (EW)unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with (EX)their grain offering and their drink offering. 16 Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17 He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 (EY)The Nazirite shall then shave his consecrated head of hair at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and take the consecrated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19 (EZ)And the priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened loaf from the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the [cn]hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair. 20 Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered as a wave offering, and the thigh offered as [co]a contribution; and (FA)afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord according to his consecration, in addition to what else [cp]he can afford; corresponding to his vow which he makes, so he shall do according to the law of his consecration.”

Aaron’s Benediction

22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘In this way (FB)you shall bless the sons of Israel. You are to say to them:

24 The Lord (FC)bless you, and [cq](FD)keep you;

25 The Lord (FE)cause His face to shine on you,
And (FF)be gracious to you;

26 The Lord (FG)lift up His face to you,
And (FH)give you peace.’

27 So they shall [cr](FI)invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and then I will bless them.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 1:2 Lit sum
  2. Numbers 1:3 Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
  3. Numbers 1:16 Lit thousands; or clans
  4. Numbers 1:49 Lit sum
  5. Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
  6. Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
  7. Numbers 1:51 Lit stranger
  8. Numbers 1:52 Or division
  9. Numbers 2:2 Or division, and so throughout the ch
  10. Numbers 2:2 Or facing it
  11. Numbers 2:4 Lit mustered, and so throughout the ch
  12. Numbers 2:14 Many mss (cf. 1:14); some ancient versions Reuel
  13. Numbers 3:3 Lit filled their hand
  14. Numbers 3:4 I.e., prohibited
  15. Numbers 3:4 Lit before the face
  16. Numbers 3:7 Lit him and the duties of the whole congregation
  17. Numbers 3:10 Or perform
  18. Numbers 3:10 Lit stranger
  19. Numbers 3:15 Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
  20. Numbers 3:16 Lit mouth
  21. Numbers 3:23 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
  22. Numbers 3:26 Lit of it
  23. Numbers 3:30 In Ex 6:22, Elzaphan
  24. Numbers 3:31 I.e., the veil between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place
  25. Numbers 3:31 Lit of it
  26. Numbers 3:38 Lit stranger
  27. Numbers 3:39 Lit mouth
  28. Numbers 3:40 Lit take up the number
  29. Numbers 3:46 Or ransom
  30. Numbers 3:47 A gerah is about 0.025 oz. or 0.7 gm
  31. Numbers 3:51 Lit mouth
  32. Numbers 4:2 Lit sum
  33. Numbers 4:2 Lit sons
  34. Numbers 4:4 Lit sons
  35. Numbers 4:6 Meaning of the Heb uncertain, and so throughout the ch
  36. Numbers 4:6 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
  37. Numbers 4:10 Or frame
  38. Numbers 4:12 Or frame
  39. Numbers 4:13 Or fatty ashes; i.e., soaked with fat
  40. Numbers 4:15 Lit burden...of the sons
  41. Numbers 4:16 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
  42. Numbers 4:22 Lit sum
  43. Numbers 4:22 Lit also them
  44. Numbers 4:23 Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
  45. Numbers 4:26 Or to them
  46. Numbers 4:26 Lit so they shall serve
  47. Numbers 4:27 Lit mouth
  48. Numbers 4:28 Lit in the hand
  49. Numbers 4:32 Lit of the duty of their loads
  50. Numbers 4:33 Lit in the hand
  51. Numbers 4:37 Lit mouth
  52. Numbers 4:37 Lit by the hand of
  53. Numbers 4:41 Lit mouth
  54. Numbers 4:45 Lit mouth
  55. Numbers 4:45 Lit by the hand of
  56. Numbers 4:49 Lit mouth
  57. Numbers 4:49 Lit by the hand of
  58. Numbers 5:7 Lit they
  59. Numbers 5:7 Lit their
  60. Numbers 5:7 Lit they have
  61. Numbers 5:8 I.e., male relative to act in his behalf
  62. Numbers 5:9 Or uplifted offering
  63. Numbers 5:14 Lit and
  64. Numbers 5:14 Lit a spirit
  65. Numbers 5:14 Lit a spirit
  66. Numbers 5:15 Lit her offering
  67. Numbers 5:15 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  68. Numbers 5:17 Lit the priest
  69. Numbers 5:18 Lit on her palms
  70. Numbers 5:19 Lit free from
  71. Numbers 5:21 Lit collapsed
  72. Numbers 5:21 Possibly the womb, and so throughout the ch
  73. Numbers 5:22 Or inward parts
  74. Numbers 5:22 Lit collapse
  75. Numbers 5:23 Lit wipe
  76. Numbers 5:24 Lit for bitterness
  77. Numbers 5:27 Lit for bitterness
  78. Numbers 5:27 Lit collapse
  79. Numbers 5:28 Lit free
  80. Numbers 5:28 Lit seed
  81. Numbers 5:30 Lit a spirit
  82. Numbers 5:31 Or wrongdoing
  83. Numbers 5:31 Or wrongdoing
  84. Numbers 6:2 Or an extraordinary
  85. Numbers 6:2 I.e., one consecrated to God
  86. Numbers 6:3 I.e., other alcoholic drink
  87. Numbers 6:3 Lit drink
  88. Numbers 6:7 I.e., referring either to the visibility of the long hair, or to the consequences of violating the vow
  89. Numbers 6:11 Lit because of that which he sinned
  90. Numbers 6:12 Lit fall
  91. Numbers 6:13 Lit it
  92. Numbers 6:19 Lit palms
  93. Numbers 6:20 Or an uplifted offering
  94. Numbers 6:21 Lit his hand reaches
  95. Numbers 6:24 Or watch over; or take care of
  96. Numbers 6:27 Lit put

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