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Numbers 15-22
New American Standard Bible

Laws for Canaan

15 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “(A)Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land [a]where you are going to live, which I am giving you, 3 and you make (B)an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to [b](C)fulfill a special vow, or as a [c]voluntary offering or at your (D)appointed times, to make a (E)soothing aroma to the Lord from the herd or from the flock, 4 then (F)the one who presents his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an [d]ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a [e]hin of oil, 5 and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, a fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for (G)each lamb. 6 Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil; 7 and for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the Lord. 8 And when you prepare (H)a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to [f]fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord, 9 then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; 10 and you shall offer as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

11 ‘This is how it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. 12 According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for each one according to their number. 13 Everyone who is a native shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Law for the Stranger

14 Now if a stranger resides among you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wants to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, just as you do so shall he do. 15 As for the assembly, there shall be (I)one statute for you and for the stranger who resides among you, a permanent statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. 16 There is to be (J)one law and one ordinance for you and for the stranger who resides with you.’”

17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I am bringing you, 19 then it shall be, that when you eat from the [g](K)food of the land, you shall lift up an [h]offering to the Lord. 20 (L)Of the first of your [i]dough you shall lift up a loaf as an [j]offering; as (M)an [k]offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. 21 From the first of your [l]dough you shall give to the Lord an [m]offering throughout your generations.

22 ‘But when you (N)unintentionally do wrong and fail to [n]comply with all these commandments which the Lord has spoken to Moses, 23 that is, all that the Lord has commanded you [o]through Moses from the day that the Lord gave commandments and onward, throughout your generations, 24 then it shall be, if it is done (O)unintentionally, [p]without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull as a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the Lord, (P)with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 Then (Q)the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an unintentional wrong, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their unintentional wrong. 26 So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, as well as the stranger who resides among them, for guilt was attributed to all the people through an (R)unintentional wrong.

27 ‘Also, if one person sins (S)unintentionally, then he shall offer a one-year-old female goat as a sin offering. 28 And (T)the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who goes astray by an unintentional sin, making atonement for him [q]so that he may be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for the native among the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, for one who does anything wrong unintentionally. 30 But the person who does wrong [r](U)defiantly, whether he is a native or a stranger, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Since he has (V)despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; (W)his [s]guilt will be on him.’”

Sabbath-breaking Punished

32 Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man (X)gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation; 34 and they placed him in custody, (Y)because it had not been decided what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must be put to death; (Z)all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him [t]to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

37 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the sons of Israel and tell them that they shall make for themselves (AA)tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a [u]violet thread. 39 It shall be a tassel for you [v]to look at and (AB)remember all the commandments of the Lord, so that you will do them and not [w]follow your own heart and your own eyes, [x]which led you to prostitute yourselves, 40 so that you will remember and do all My commandments and (AC)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’s Rebellion

16 Now (AD)Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with (AE)Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men, 2 and they stood before Moses, [y]together with some of the sons of Israel, 250 leaders of the congregation [z](AF)chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together (AG)against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “[aa](AH)You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and (AI)the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”

4 When Moses heard this, (AJ)he fell on his face; 5 and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and (AK)who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, (AL)the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. 6 Do this: take censers for yourselves, Korah and [ab]your whole group, 7 and put fire in them, and place incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. [ac](AM)You have gone far enough, you sons of Levi!”

8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 (AN)Is it too small an honor for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the congregation of Israel, (AO)to bring you near to Himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? But are you (AP)seeking the priesthood as well? 11 Therefore you and your whole group are the ones gathered together (AQ)against the Lord; but as for Aaron, [ad]who is he, that (AR)you grumble against him?”

12 Then Moses sent [ae]a summons to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; but they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it [af]not enough that you have brought us up out of a (AS)land flowing with milk and honey (AT)to have us die in the wilderness, but you would also appoint yourself as master over us? 14 Indeed, you have not brought us (AU)into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of (AV)fields and vineyards. Would you (AW)gouge out the eyes of [ag]these men? We will not come up!”

15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “(AX)Pay no attention to their offering! (AY)I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them.” 16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your group be present before the Lord tomorrow, you and they along with Aaron. 17 And each of you take his censer and put incense on [ah]it, and each of you bring his censer before the Lord, 250 censers; also you and Aaron shall each bring his censer.” 18 So they took, each one his own censer, and put fire on [ai]it, and placed incense on [aj]it; and they stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting, with Moses and Aaron. 19 So Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And (AZ)the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 21 “(BA)Separate yourselves from among this congregation, (BB)so that I may consume them instantly.” 22 But they fell on their faces and said, “God, (BC)the God of the spirits of [ak]humanity, (BD)when one person sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘(BE)Get away from the areas around the [al]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’”

25 Then Moses arose and went to Dathan and Abiram, with the elders of Israel following him, 26 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “(BF)Get away now from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, (BG)or you will be swept away in all their sin!” 27 So they moved away from the areas around the [am]tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, along with their wives, (BH)their sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that (BI)the Lord has sent me to do all these deeds; for it is not [an]my doing. 29 If these men die [ao]the death of all mankind, or [ap]if they suffer the (BJ)fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But (BK)if the Lord [aq]brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with everything that is theirs, and they (BL)descend alive into [ar]Sheol, then you will know that these men have been disrespectful to the Lord.”

31 And as he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and (BM)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, and (BN)all the people who belonged to Korah with all their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to [as]Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their [at]outcry, for they said, “The earth might swallow us!” 35 (BO)Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the (BP)250 men who were offering the incense.

36 [au]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he shall pick up the censers from the midst of the burned area, because they are holy; and you are to scatter the [av]burning coals further away. 38 As for the censers of these [aw]men who have sinned at the cost of their own lives, have them made into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy; and (BQ)they shall [ax]serve as a sign to the sons of Israel.” 39 So the priest Eleazar took the bronze censers which the men who were burned had offered, and they hammered them out as plating for the altar, 40 as a reminder to the sons of Israel so that (BR)no [ay]layman, anyone who was not of the [az]descendants of Aaron, would approach (BS)to burn incense before the Lord; then he would not become like Korah and his group—just as the Lord had spoken to him [ba]through Moses.

Murmuring and Plague

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel (BT)grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord’s people!” 42 It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and (BU)the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “(BV)Get away from among this congregation so that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put fire in it from the altar, and place incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and (BW)make atonement for them, for (BX)wrath has gone out from the Lord, the plague has begun!” 47 Then Aaron took it just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague had begun among the people. (BY)So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was brought to a halt. 49 (BZ)But those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who (CA)died on account of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been brought to a halt.

Aaron’s Staff Buds

17 [bb]Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and obtain from them a staff for each father’s household: twelve staffs, from all their leaders for their fathers’ households. You shall write each man’s name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi; for there is to be one staff for the head of each of their fathers’ households. 4 You shall then leave them in the tent of meeting in front of (CB)the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And it will come about that the staff of (CC)the man whom I choose will sprout. So I will relieve Myself of the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” 6 So Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, for their fathers’ households, twelve staffs in all, with the staff of Aaron among their staffs. 7 Then Moses left the staffs before the Lord in (CD)the tent of the testimony.

8 Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, (CE)Aaron’s staff for the house of Levi had sprouted and produced buds and bloomed with blossoms, and it yielded ripe almonds. 9 Moses then brought out all the staffs from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 But the Lord said to Moses, “Put the staff of Aaron (CF)back in front of the testimony [bc]to be kept as a sign against the [bd](CG)rebels, so that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me and they do not die.” 11 Moses did so; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

12 Then the sons of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “(CH)Behold, we are passing away, we are perishing, we are all perishing! 13 (CI)Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, must die. Are we to perish completely?”

Duties of Levites

18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons, and your father’s household with you shall (CJ)bear the guilt [be]in connection with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the guilt [bf]in connection with your priesthood. 2 But also bring your brothers with you, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may (CK)join you and serve you, while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. 3 And they shall perform duties for you and the duties of the whole tent, but (CL)they shall not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and (CM)the altar, or both they and you will die. 4 They shall join you and perform the duties of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; but [bg]an unauthorized person shall not come near you. 5 So you shall perform the (CN)duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, (CO)so that there will no longer be wrath on the sons of Israel. 6 Behold, I Myself (CP)have taken your [bh]fellow Levites from among the sons of Israel; they are (CQ)a gift to you, [bi]dedicated to the Lord, to perform the service for the tent of meeting. 7 But you and your sons with you shall (CR)attend to your priesthood for everything that concerns the altar and inside the veil, and you are to perform service. I am giving you the priesthood as (CS)a [bj]service that is a gift, and (CT)the [bk]unauthorized person who comes near shall be put to death.”

The Priests’ Portion

8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have put you in charge of My [bl](CU)offerings, all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given to you as a portion and to your sons as a permanent allotment. 9 This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, namely (CV)every grain offering, every (CW)sin offering, and every guilt offering, with which they shall make restitution to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. 10 As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. 11 This also is yours, (CX)the offering of their gift, that is, all the wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have (CY)given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a permanent allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 12 (CZ)All the [bm]best of the fresh oil and all the [bn]best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of what they give to the Lord, I have given them to you. 13 (DA)The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 14 (DB)Everything banned from secular use in Israel shall be yours. 15 [bo](DC)Every firstborn of the womb of all flesh, whether human or animal, which they offer to the Lord, shall be yours; however you must redeem the human firstborn, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 As to [bp]their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your assessment, five [bq]shekels in silver by the [br]shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 But (DD)the firstborn of an ox, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. (DE)You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the Lord. 18 However, their [bs]meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the (DF)breast of a wave offering and like the right thigh. 19 (DG)All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a permanent allotment. It is (DH)a permanent covenant of salt before the Lord to you and your [bt]descendants with you.” 20 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “(DI)You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; (DJ)I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel.

21 “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the (DK)tithe in Israel as an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. 22 And (DL)the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bring sin on themselves and die. 23 Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall (DM)bear their own guilt; it shall be a permanent statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel (DN)they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘(DO)They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel (DP)the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a (DQ)tithe of the tithe. 27 Your offering shall be credited to you like the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. 28 So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from all your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the [bu]best of them, [bv]the sacred part from them.’ 30 And you shall say to them, ‘When you have [bw]offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be credited to the Levites like the product of the threshing floor, and like the product of the wine vat. 31 You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 And you will bring on yourselves no sin by reason of it when you have [bx]offered the [by]best of it. But you shall not (DR)profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, so that you do not die.’”

Ordinance of the Red Heifer

19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an (DS)unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and (DT)on which a yoke has never [bz]been mounted. 3 And you shall give it to (DU)Eleazar the priest, and it shall (DV)be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and (DW)sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; (DX)its hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take (DY)cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material, and throw it into the midst of the [ca]burning heifer. 7 The priest (DZ)shall then wash his clothes and bathe his [cb]body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be [cc]unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns [cd]the heifer shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his [ce]body in water, and will be unclean until evening. 9 Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place, and [cf]the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep them for (EA)water to remove impurity; it is [cg]purification from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer (EB)shall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening; and it shall be a permanent statute for the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them.

11 ‘(EC)The one who touches the dead body of any [ch]person will also be unclean for seven days. 12 That one shall (ED)purify himself with [ci]the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 (EE)Anyone who touches a dead body, the [cj]body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, (EF)defiles the [ck]tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Since the water for impurity was not (EG)sprinkled on him, he will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

14 ‘This is the law when a person 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 container, which has no cover tied down on it, will be unclean. 16 (EH)Also, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been killed with a sword or one who has died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17 Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the [cl]ashes of the [cm]burnt [cn](EI)purification from sin and [co]running water shall be [cp]added to them in a container. 18 And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one who was killed or the one who died naturally, or the grave. 19 Then the clean person (EJ)shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and will be clean by evening.

20 ‘But the person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has (EK)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, so he is unclean. 21 So it shall be a permanent statute for them. And the one (EL)who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening. 22 (EM)Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean; and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”

Death of Miriam

20 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the (EN)wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

2 (EO)There was no water for the congregation, (EP)and they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 (EQ)Then the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “(ER)If only we had perished (ES)when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 (ET)Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die [cq]here? 5 Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? (EU)It is not a place of [cr]grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and (EV)fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Waters of Meribah

8 “Take (EW)the staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff (EX)from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “(EY)Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and (EZ)water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “(FA)Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were called the waters of [cs](FB)Meribah, [ct]because the sons of Israel argued with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to (FC)the king of Edom to say, “This is what your brother Israel has said: ‘You (FD)know all the hardship that has [cu]overtaken us; 15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16 But (FE)when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent (FF)an angel, and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please (FG)let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s road, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”

18 (FH)Edom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through [cv]us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” 19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the road, and if I and (FI)my livestock do drink any of your water, (FJ)then I will [cw]pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, [cx]nothing more.” 20 But he said, “(FK)You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy [cy]force and a strong hand. 21 (FL)So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; (FM)then Israel turned away from him.

22 Now when they set out from (FN)Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Death of Aaron

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at (FO)Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Aaron will be (FP)gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because (FQ)you rebelled against My [cz]command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son (FR)Eleazar, and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 Then strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be (FS)gathered to his people and will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And after Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and (FT)put them on his son Eleazar, (FU)Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, the whole house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty (FV)days.

Arad Conquered

21 When the Canaanite, the king of (FW)Arad, who lived in the [da]Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So (FX)Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over this people to me, then I will [db]utterly destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord heard the voice of Israel and turned over the Canaanites; then they [dc]utterly destroyed them and their cities. And the place was named [dd](FY)Hormah.

4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [de]Red Sea, to (FZ)go around the land of Edom; and the [df]people became impatient because of the journey. 5 So the people spoke against God and Moses: “(GA)Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no [dg]food and no water, and [dh](GB)we are disgusted with [di]this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

6 (GC)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and (GD)they bit the people, so that (GE)many people of Israel died. 7 (GF)So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; (GG)intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “[dj]Make a (GH)fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” 9 So Moses made a (GI)bronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

10 (GJ)Now the sons of Israel moved out and camped in Oboth. 11 Then they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, to the [dk]east. 12 (GK)From there they set out and camped in [dl]Wadi Zered. 13 From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites; (GL)for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 For that reason it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,

“Waheb in Suphah,
And the [dm]wadis of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the wadis
That extends to the site of (GM)Ar,
And leans to the border of Moab.”

16 (GN)From there they continued to [dn]Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Assemble the people, that I may give them water.”

17 (GO)Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
18 The well, which the leaders dug,
Which the nobles of the people hollowed out,
With the scepter and with their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they continued to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the land of Moab, at the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the [do]desert.

Two Victories

21 (GP)Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “(GQ)Let me pass through your land. We will not turn off into field or vineyard; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the king’s road until we have passed through your border.” 23 (GR)But Sihon would not permit Israel to pass through his border. Instead, Sihon gathered all his people and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and came to (GS)Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then (GT)Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon; for the (GU)border of the sons of Ammon was [dp]Jazer. 25 Israel took all these cities, and (GV)Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all her [dq]villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. 27 For that reason those who use proverbs say,

“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!
So let the city of Sihon be established.
28 (GW)For a fire spread from Heshbon,
A flame from the town of Sihon;
It devoured (GX)Ar of Moab,
The [dr](GY)dominant [ds]heights of the Arnon.
29 (GZ)Woe to you, Moab!
You are destroyed, people of (HA)Chemosh!
(HB)He has given his sons as fugitives,
(HC)And his daughters into captivity,
To an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 But we have shot them down with arrows,
Heshbon is destroyed as far as (HD)Dibon,
Then we have laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to Medeba.”

31 So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 Now Moses sent men to spy out (HE)Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

33 (HF)Then they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out against them [dt]with all his people, for battle at (HG)Edrei. 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “(HH)Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 35 So (HI)they [du]killed him and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left; and they took possession of his land.

Balak Sends for Balaam

22 (HJ)Then the sons of Israel journeyed on, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

2 Now (HK)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 (HL)So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. 4 Moab said to the elders of (HM)Midian, “Now this [dv]horde will eat up all that is around us, as the ox eats up the grass of the field!” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5 So he sent messengers to (HN)Balaam the son of Beor, at (HO)Pethor, which is near the Euphrates River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call for him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they have covered the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. 6 (HP)Now, therefore, please come, (HQ)curse this people for me since they are too [dw]mighty for me; perhaps I will be able to [dx]defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left with the fees for (HR)divination in their hands; and they came to Balaam and [dy]repeated Balak’s words to him. 8 And he said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you just as the Lord may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 Then (HS)God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me: 11 ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; (HT)you shall not curse the people, for they (HU)are blessed.” 13 So Balaam got up in the morning and said to Balak’s representatives, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 And the representatives from Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

15 Then Balak sent representatives once again, more numerous and more distinguished than [dz]the previous. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak the son of Zippor says: ‘I beg you, let nothing keep you from coming to me; 17 for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you tell me. (HV)Please come then, curse this people for me.’” 18 But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “(HW)Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the [ea]command of the Lord my God. 19 Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord will say to me.” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise and go with them; but you shall do (HX)only the thing that I tell you.”

21 (HY)So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

22 But God was angry that he was going, (HZ)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, the donkey turned off from the road and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey to guide her back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and on that side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so (IA)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then (IB)the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “It is because you have made a mockery of me! If only there had been a sword in my hand! For (IC)I would have killed you by now!” 30 But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And he said, “No.”

31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw (ID)the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed [eb]all the way to the ground. 32 Then the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was (IE)reckless and contrary to me. 33 But the donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I certainly would have killed you just now, and let her live.” 34 So Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “(IF)I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” 35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but (IG)you shall speak only the word that I [ec]tell you.” So Balaam went along with the representatives of Balak.

36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, [ed]at the extreme end of the border. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send word to you to call for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?” 38 So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you now! (IH)Am I really able to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that only shall I speak.” 39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

41 Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to [ee](II)the high places of Baal, and he saw from there [ef]a (IJ)portion of the people.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 15:2 Lit of your dwellings
  2. Numbers 15:3 Or make a special votive offering
  3. Numbers 15:3 Or freewill offering
  4. Numbers 15:4 An ephah was about 7.4 gallons or 28 liters
  5. Numbers 15:4 A hin also was about 1 gallon or 3.8 liters
  6. Numbers 15:8 Or make a special votive offering
  7. Numbers 15:19 Lit bread
  8. Numbers 15:19 Or uplifted offering
  9. Numbers 15:20 Or coarse meal
  10. Numbers 15:20 Or uplifted offering
  11. Numbers 15:20 Or uplifted offering
  12. Numbers 15:21 Or coarse meal
  13. Numbers 15:21 Or uplifted offering
  14. Numbers 15:22 Lit perform all
  15. Numbers 15:23 Lit by the hand of
  16. Numbers 15:24 Lit away from the eyes of the congregation
  17. Numbers 15:28 Or and he shall
  18. Numbers 15:30 Lit with upraised hand
  19. Numbers 15:31 Or wrongdoing
  20. Numbers 15:36 Lit with stones and he died
  21. Numbers 15:38 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
  22. Numbers 15:39 Lit and you shall look at it
  23. Numbers 15:39 Lit seek
  24. Numbers 15:39 Lit after which you played
  25. Numbers 16:2 Lit and men from
  26. Numbers 16:2 Lit called ones of
  27. Numbers 16:3 Lit Much for you
  28. Numbers 16:6 Lit his
  29. Numbers 16:7 Lit Much for you
  30. Numbers 16:11 Lit what
  31. Numbers 16:12 Lit to call to
  32. Numbers 16:13 Lit a little thing
  33. Numbers 16:14 Lit those
  34. Numbers 16:17 Lit them
  35. Numbers 16:18 Lit them
  36. Numbers 16:18 Lit them
  37. Numbers 16:22 Lit all flesh
  38. Numbers 16:24 Lit residence
  39. Numbers 16:27 Lit dwelling place
  40. Numbers 16:28 Lit from my heart
  41. Numbers 16:29 Lit like the death
  42. Numbers 16:29 Lit the visitation of all men is visited upon them
  43. Numbers 16:30 Lit creates
  44. Numbers 16:30 I.e., the netherworld
  45. Numbers 16:33 I.e., the netherworld
  46. Numbers 16:34 Or voice
  47. Numbers 16:36 Ch 17:1 in Heb
  48. Numbers 16:37 Lit the fire
  49. Numbers 16:38 Lit sinners against their lives
  50. Numbers 16:38 Lit be for a
  51. Numbers 16:40 Lit stranger
  52. Numbers 16:40 Lit seed
  53. Numbers 16:40 Lit by the hand of
  54. Numbers 17:1 Ch 17:16 in Heb
  55. Numbers 17:10 Lit for preserving
  56. Numbers 17:10 Lit sons of rebellion
  57. Numbers 18:1 Lit of the sanctuary
  58. Numbers 18:1 Lit of your priesthood
  59. Numbers 18:4 Lit a stranger
  60. Numbers 18:6 Lit brothers the
  61. Numbers 18:6 Lit given
  62. Numbers 18:7 Lit service of a gift
  63. Numbers 18:7 Lit stranger
  64. Numbers 18:8 Or uplifted offerings, and so throughout the ch
  65. Numbers 18:12 Lit fat
  66. Numbers 18:12 Lit fat
  67. Numbers 18:15 Lit Everything that opens
  68. Numbers 18:16 Lit his being redeemed
  69. Numbers 18:16 A shekel is about 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
  70. Numbers 18:16 A shekel is about 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
  71. Numbers 18:18 Lit flesh
  72. Numbers 18:19 Lit seed
  73. Numbers 18:29 Lit fat
  74. Numbers 18:29 Lit its
  75. Numbers 18:30 Lit lifted
  76. Numbers 18:32 Lit lifted
  77. Numbers 18:32 Lit fat
  78. Numbers 19:2 Lit gone up
  79. Numbers 19:6 Lit burning of the heifer
  80. Numbers 19:7 Lit flesh
  81. Numbers 19:7 I.e., ritually unclean, and so throughout the ch
  82. Numbers 19:8 Lit it
  83. Numbers 19:8 Lit flesh
  84. Numbers 19:9 Lit it shall be to the congregation...Israel, for a guarding as water of impurity
  85. Numbers 19:9 Or a sin offering
  86. Numbers 19:11 Lit soul of mankind
  87. Numbers 19:12 Lit it
  88. Numbers 19:13 Lit soul
  89. Numbers 19:13 Lit dwelling place
  90. Numbers 19:17 Lit dust
  91. Numbers 19:17 Lit burning of the
  92. Numbers 19:17 Or sin offering
  93. Numbers 19:17 Lit living
  94. Numbers 19:17 Lit given
  95. Numbers 20:4 Lit there
  96. Numbers 20:5 Lit seed
  97. Numbers 20:13 I.e., contention
  98. Numbers 20:13 Or where
  99. Numbers 20:14 Lit found
  100. Numbers 20:18 Lit me
  101. Numbers 20:19 Lit give
  102. Numbers 20:19 Or no great thing
  103. Numbers 20:20 Lit people
  104. Numbers 20:24 Lit mouth
  105. Numbers 21:1 I.e., South country
  106. Numbers 21:2 Lit devote to destruction
  107. Numbers 21:3 Lit devoted to destruction
  108. Numbers 21:3 I.e., a devoted thing; or Destruction
  109. Numbers 21:4 Lit Sea of Reeds
  110. Numbers 21:4 Lit soul of the people was short
  111. Numbers 21:5 Lit bread
  112. Numbers 21:5 Lit our soul is disgusted
  113. Numbers 21:5 I.e., the manna
  114. Numbers 21:8 Lit Make for yourself
  115. Numbers 21:11 Lit sunrise
  116. Numbers 21:12 I.e., a dry stream bed, except in the rainy season
  117. Numbers 21:14 I.e., dry stream beds
  118. Numbers 21:16 I.e., a well
  119. Numbers 21:20 Or Jeshimon
  120. Numbers 21:24 So LXX; MT strong
  121. Numbers 21:25 Lit daughters
  122. Numbers 21:28 Lit lords of the
  123. Numbers 21:28 Or Bamoth
  124. Numbers 21:33 Lit he and
  125. Numbers 21:35 Lit struck
  126. Numbers 22:4 Lit assembly
  127. Numbers 22:6 Or numerous
  128. Numbers 22:6 Lit strike
  129. Numbers 22:7 Lit spoke
  130. Numbers 22:15 Lit these
  131. Numbers 22:18 Lit mouth
  132. Numbers 22:31 Lit and prostrated himself to his face
  133. Numbers 22:35 Or speak to
  134. Numbers 22:36 Lit which is at
  135. Numbers 22:41 Or Bamoth-baal
  136. Numbers 22:41 Lit the extremity of the people
Listen to Numbers 15-22
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Numbers 15-22
New International Version

Supplementary Offerings

15 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you(A) as a home 3 and you present to the Lord food offerings from the herd or the flock,(B) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord(C)—whether burnt offerings(D) or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings(E) or festival offerings(F)— 4 then the person who brings an offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering(G) of a tenth of an ephah[a] of the finest flour(H) mixed with a quarter of a hin[b] of olive oil. 5 With each lamb(I) for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine(J) as a drink offering.(K)

6 “‘With a ram(L) prepare a grain offering(M) of two-tenths of an ephah[c](N) of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin[d] of olive oil,(O) 7 and a third of a hin of wine(P) as a drink offering.(Q) Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(R)

8 “‘When you prepare a young bull(S) as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow(T) or a fellowship offering(U) to the Lord, 9 bring with the bull a grain offering(V) of three-tenths of an ephah[e](W) of the finest flour mixed with half a hin[f] of olive oil, 10 and also bring half a hin of wine(X) as a drink offering.(Y) This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(Z) 11 Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. 12 Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.(AA)

13 “‘Everyone who is native-born(AB) must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(AC) 14 For the generations to come,(AD) whenever a foreigner(AE) or anyone else living among you presents a food(AF) offering(AG) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, they must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.(AH) You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.(AI)’”

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you(AJ) 19 and you eat the food of the land,(AK) present a portion as an offering to the Lord.(AL) 20 Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal(AM) and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.(AN) 21 Throughout the generations to come(AO) you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.(AP)

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

22 “‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses(AQ)— 23 any of the Lord’s commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come(AR)— 24 and if this is done unintentionally(AS) without the community being aware of it,(AT) then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering(AU) as an aroma pleasing to the Lord,(AV) along with its prescribed grain offering(AW) and drink offering,(AX) and a male goat for a sin offering.[g](AY) 25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven,(AZ) for it was not intentional(BA) and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering(BB) and a sin offering.(BC) 26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.(BD)

27 “‘But if just one person sins unintentionally,(BE) that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.(BF) 28 The priest is to make atonement(BG) before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven.(BH) 29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.(BI)

30 “‘But anyone who sins defiantly,(BJ) whether native-born or foreigner,(BK) blasphemes the Lord(BL) and must be cut off from the people of Israel.(BM) 31 Because they have despised(BN) the Lord’s word and broken his commands,(BO) they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.(BP)’”

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness,(BQ) a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.(BR) 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.(BS) 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die.(BT) The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.(BU)” 36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him(BV) to death,(BW) as the Lord commanded Moses.(BX)

Tassels on Garments

37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come(BY) you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments,(BZ) with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember(CA) all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves(CB) by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts(CC) and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands(CD) and will be consecrated to your God.(CE) 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God.(CF) I am the Lord your God.(CG)’”

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

16 Korah(CH) son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram(CI), sons of Eliab,(CJ) and On son of Peleth—became insolent[h] 2 and rose up against Moses.(CK) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.(CL) 3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron(CM) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,(CN) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.(CO) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”(CP)

4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.(CQ) 5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy,(CR) and he will have that person come near him.(CS) The man he chooses(CT) he will cause to come near him. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers(CU) are to do this: Take censers(CV) 7 and tomorrow put burning coals(CW) and incense(CX) in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses(CY) will be the one who is holy.(CZ) You Levites have gone too far!”

8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn’t it enough(DA) for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?(DB) 10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.(DC) 11 It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble(DD) against him?(DE)”

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram,(DF) the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!(DG) 13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey(DH) to kill us in the wilderness?(DI) And now you also want to lord it over us!(DJ) 14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey(DK) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.(DL) Do you want to treat these men like slaves[i]?(DM) No, we will not come!(DN)”

15 Then Moses became very angry(DO) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey(DP) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.(DQ) 17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.(DR)” 18 So each of them took his censer,(DS) put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them(DT) at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord(DU) appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 “Separate yourselves(DV) from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”(DW)

22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown(DX) and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things,(DY) will you be angry with the entire assembly(DZ) when only one man sins?”(EA)

23 Then the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel(EB) followed him. 26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men!(EC) Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away(ED) because of all their sins.(EE)” 27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.(EF) Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children(EG) and little ones at the entrances to their tents.(EH)

28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know(EI) that the Lord has sent me(EJ) to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.(EK) 30 But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth(EL) and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead,(EM) then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.(EN)”

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart(EO) 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them(EP) and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead,(EQ) with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

35 And fire came out from the Lord(ER) and consumed(ES) the 250 men who were offering the incense.

36 The Lord said to Moses, 37 “Tell Eleazar(ET) son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers(EU) from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— 38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives.(EV) Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar,(EW) for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign(EX) to the Israelites.”

39 So Eleazar the priest(EY) collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death,(EZ) and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense(FA) before the Lord,(FB) or he would become like Korah and his followers.(FC)

41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition(FD) to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord(FE) appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end(FF) to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer(FG) and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly(FH) to make atonement(FI) for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord;(FJ) the plague(FK) has started.” 47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people,(FL) but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.(FM) 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.(FN) 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.[j]

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

17 [k]The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs(FO) from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.(FP) Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name,(FQ) for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the tent of meeting(FR) in front of the ark of the covenant law,(FS) where I meet with you.(FT) 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose(FU) will sprout,(FV) and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling(FW) against you by the Israelites.”

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.(FX)

8 The next day Moses entered the tent(FY) and saw that Aaron’s staff,(FZ) which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.(GA) 9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs(GB) from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

10 The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff(GC) in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious.(GD) This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” 11 Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!(GE) 13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die.(GF) Are we all going to die?”

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary,(GG) and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. 2 Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister(GH) before the tent of the covenant law. 3 They are to be responsible to you(GI) and are to perform all the duties of the tent,(GJ) but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die.(GK) 4 They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.(GL)

5 “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar,(GM) so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you,(GN) dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the tent of meeting.(GO) 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain.(GP) I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.(GQ) Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.(GR)”

Offerings for Priests and Levites

8 Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion,(GS) your perpetual share.(GT) 9 You are to have the part of the most holy offerings(GU) that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain(GV) or sin[l](GW) or guilt offerings,(GX) that part belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it.(GY) You must regard it as holy.(GZ)

11 “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings(HA) of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share.(HB) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean(HC) may eat it.

12 “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain(HD) they give the Lord(HE) as the firstfruits of their harvest.(HF) 13 All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours.(HG) Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.(HH)

14 “Everything in Israel that is devoted[m] to the Lord(HI) is yours. 15 The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours.(HJ) But you must redeem(HK) every firstborn(HL) son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.(HM) 16 When they are a month old,(HN) you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels[n](HO) of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel,(HP) which weighs twenty gerahs.(HQ)

17 “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy.(HR) Splash their blood(HS) against the altar and burn their fat(HT) as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.(HU) 18 Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering(HV) and the right thigh are yours.(HW) 19 Whatever is set aside from the holy(HX) offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt(HY) before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”

20 The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them;(HZ) I am your share and your inheritance(IA) among the Israelites.

21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes(IB) in Israel as their inheritance(IC) in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.(ID) 22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.(IE) 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance(IF) for the generations to come.(IG) They will receive no inheritance(IH) among the Israelites.(II) 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.(IJ) That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you(IK) as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.(IL) 27 Your offering will be reckoned(IM) to you as grain from the threshing floor(IN) or juice from the winepress.(IO) 28 In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes(IP) you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

30 “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.(IQ) 31 You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.(IR) 32 By presenting the best part(IS) of it you will not be guilty in this matter;(IT) then you will not defile the holy offerings(IU) of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”

The Water of Cleansing

19 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer(IV) without defect or blemish(IW) and that has never been under a yoke.(IX) 3 Give it to Eleazar(IY) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp(IZ) and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle(JA) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.(JB) 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop(JC) and scarlet wool(JD) and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.(JE) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(JF) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(JG) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(JH) it is for purification from sin.(JI) 10 The man who gathers up(JJ) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(JK) This will be a lasting ordinance(JL) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(JM)

11 “Whoever touches a human corpse(JN) will be unclean for seven days.(JO) 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;(JP) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.(JQ) 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,(JR) they defile the Lord’s tabernacle.(JS) They must be cut off from Israel.(JT) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;(JU) their uncleanness remains on them.

14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container(JV) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,(JW) or anyone who touches a human bone(JX) or a grave,(JY) will be unclean for seven days.(JZ)

17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes(KA) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water(KB) over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,(KC) dip it in the water and sprinkle(KD) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave(KE) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle(KF) those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.(KG) Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes(KH) and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled(KI) the sanctuary of the Lord.(KJ) The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.(KK) 21 This is a lasting ordinance(KL) for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean(KM) person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

Water From the Rock

20 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,(KN) and they stayed at Kadesh.(KO) There Miriam(KP) died and was buried.

2 Now there was no water(KQ) for the community,(KR) and the people gathered in opposition(KS) to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled(KT) with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(KU) before the Lord!(KV) 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness,(KW) that we and our livestock should die here?(KX) 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(KY) And there is no water to drink!(KZ)”

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(LA) and fell facedown,(LB) and the glory of the Lord(LC) appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff,(LD) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(LE) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff(LF) from the Lord’s presence,(LG) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(LH) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(LI) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(LJ) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy(LK) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”(LL)

13 These were the waters of Meribah,[o](LM) where the Israelites quarreled(LN) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(LO)

Edom Denies Israel Passage

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh(LP) to the king of Edom,(LQ) saying:

“This is what your brother Israel says: You know(LR) about all the hardships(LS) that have come on us. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(LT) and we lived there many years.(LU) The Egyptians mistreated(LV) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry(LW) and sent an angel(LX) and brought us out of Egypt.(LY)

“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(LZ) 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.(MA)”

18 But Edom(MB) answered:

“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.(MC)”

19 The Israelites replied:

“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock(MD) drink any of your water, we will pay for it.(ME) We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

20 Again they answered:

“You may not pass through.(MF)”

Then Edom(MG) came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,(MH) Israel turned away from them.(MI)

The Death of Aaron

22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh(MJ) and came to Mount Hor.(MK) 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,(ML) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people.(MM) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command(MN) at the waters of Meribah.(MO) 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.(MP) 26 Remove Aaron’s garments(MQ) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;(MR) he will die there.”

27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor(MS) in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.(MT) And Aaron died there(MU) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,(MV) all the Israelites mourned for him(MW) thirty days.

Arad Destroyed

21 When the Canaanite king of Arad,(MX) who lived in the Negev,(MY) heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. 2 Then Israel made this vow(MZ) to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy[p](NA) their cities.” 3 The Lord listened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites(NB) over to them. They completely destroyed them(NC) and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.[q](ND)

The Bronze Snake

4 They traveled from Mount Hor(NE) along the route to the Red Sea,[r](NF) to go around Edom.(NG) But the people grew impatient on the way;(NH) 5 they spoke against God(NI) and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt(NJ) to die in the wilderness?(NK) There is no bread! There is no water!(NL) And we detest this miserable food!”(NM)

6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes(NN) among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.(NO) 7 The people came to Moses(NP) and said, “We sinned(NQ) when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord(NR) will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed(NS) for the people.

8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole;(NT) anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake(NU) and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.(NV)

The Journey to Moab

10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.(NW) 11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab(NX) toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.(NY) 13 They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon(NZ), which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.(OA) 14 That is why the Book of the Wars(OB) of the Lord says:

“. . . Zahab[s] in Suphah and the ravines,
    the Arnon 15 and[t] the slopes of the ravines
that lead to the settlement of Ar(OC)
    and lie along the border of Moab.”

16 From there they continued on to Beer,(OD) the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”

17 Then Israel sang this song:(OE)

“Spring up, O well!
    Sing about it,
18 about the well that the princes dug,
    that the nobles of the people sank—
    the nobles with scepters and staffs.”

Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah(OF) overlooks the wasteland.

Defeat of Sihon and Og

21 Israel sent messengers(OG) to say to Sihon(OH) king of the Amorites:(OI)

22 “Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.(OJ)”

23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory.(OK) He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz,(OL) he fought with Israel.(OM) 24 Israel, however, put him to the sword(ON) and took over his land(OO) from the Arnon to the Jabbok,(OP) but only as far as the Ammonites,(OQ) because their border was fortified. 25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites(OR) and occupied them,(OS) including Heshbon(OT) and all its surrounding settlements. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon(OU) king of the Amorites,(OV) who had fought against the former king of Moab(OW) and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.(OX)

27 That is why the poets say:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;
    let Sihon’s city be restored.

28 “Fire went out from Heshbon,
    a blaze from the city of Sihon.(OY)
It consumed(OZ) Ar(PA) of Moab,
    the citizens of Arnon’s heights.(PB)
29 Woe to you, Moab!(PC)
    You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!(PD)
He has given up his sons as fugitives(PE)
    and his daughters as captives(PF)
    to Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 “But we have overthrown them;
    Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.(PG)
We have demolished them as far as Nophah,
    which extends to Medeba.(PH)”

31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.(PI)

32 After Moses had sent spies(PJ) to Jazer,(PK) the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33 Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan(PL),(PM) and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.(PN)

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.(PO)”

35 So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors.(PP) And they took possession of his land.(PQ)

Balak Summons Balaam

22 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab(PR) and camped along the Jordan(PS) across from Jericho.(PT)

2 Now Balak son of Zippor(PU) saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread(PV) because of the Israelites.

4 The Moabites(PW) said to the elders of Midian,(PX) “This horde is going to lick up everything(PY) around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.(PZ)”

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor,(QA) who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River,(QB) in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt;(QC) they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse(QD) on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land.(QE) For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

7 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination.(QF) When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.(QG)” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

9 God came to Balaam(QH) and asked,(QI) “Who are these men with you?”

10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’”

12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.(QJ)”

13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

14 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

15 Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. 16 They came to Balaam and said:

“This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, 17 because I will reward you handsomely(QK) and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse(QL) on these people for me.”

18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.(QM) 19 Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.(QN)”

20 That night God came to Balaam(QO) and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”(QP)

Balaam’s Donkey

21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was very angry(QQ) when he went, and the angel of the Lord(QR) stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword(QS) in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it(QT) to get it back on the road.

24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry(QU) and beat it with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth,(QV) and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?(QW)”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 15:4 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  2. Numbers 15:4 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter; also in verse 5
  3. Numbers 15:6 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms
  4. Numbers 15:6 That is, about 1 1/3 quarts or about 1.3 liters; also in verse 7
  5. Numbers 15:9 That is, probably about 11 pounds or about 5 kilograms
  6. Numbers 15:9 That is, about 2 quarts or about 1.9 liters; also in verse 10
  7. Numbers 15:24 Or purification offering; also in verses 25 and 27
  8. Numbers 16:1 Or Peleth—took men
  9. Numbers 16:14 Or to deceive these men; Hebrew Will you gouge out the eyes of these men
  10. Numbers 16:50 In Hebrew texts 16:36-50 is numbered 17:1-15.
  11. Numbers 17:1 In Hebrew texts 17:1-13 is numbered 17:16-28.
  12. Numbers 18:9 Or purification
  13. Numbers 18:14 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord.
  14. Numbers 18:16 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
  15. Numbers 20:13 Meribah means quarreling.
  16. Numbers 21:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 3.
  17. Numbers 21:3 Hormah means destruction.
  18. Numbers 21:4 Or the Sea of Reeds
  19. Numbers 21:14 Septuagint; Hebrew Waheb
  20. Numbers 21:15 Or “I have been given from Suphah and the ravines / of the Arnon 15 to
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