^4:1And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^4:2Let the sons of Kohath, from among the sons of Levi, be numbered by their families, in the order of their fathers' houses; ^4:3All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. ^4:4And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things. ^4:5When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it; ^4:6And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place. ^4:7And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them; ^4:8And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places. ^4:9And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it: ^4:10All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame. ^4:11On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places. ^4:12All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame. ^4:13And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it; ^4:14Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places. ^4:15And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death. ^4:16And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care. ^4:17And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^4:18Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites; ^4:19But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up; ^4:20But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death. ^4:21And the Lord said to Moses, ^4:22Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; ^4:23All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. ^4:24This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up. ^4:25They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting; ^4:26And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do. ^4:27From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders. ^4:28This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. ^4:29The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; ^4:30Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. ^4:31And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases; ^4:32And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name. ^4:33This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. ^4:34So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; ^4:35Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting; ^4:36And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty. ^4:37This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord. ^4:38And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families, ^4:39All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting, ^4:40Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty. ^4:41This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord. ^4:42And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses, ^4:43All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting, ^4:44Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred. ^4:45This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord. ^4:46And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses, ^4:47Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport, ^4:48Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty. ^4:49At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.

^5:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^5:2Give orders to the children of Israel to put outside the tent-circle every leper, and anyone who has any sort of flow from his body, and anyone who is unclean from the touch of the dead; ^5:3Male or female they are to be put outside the tent-circle, so that they may not make unclean my resting-place among them. ^5:4So the children of Israel did as the Lord had said to Moses, and put them outside the tent-circle. ^5:5And the Lord said to Moses, ^5:6Say to the children of Israel, If a man or a woman does any of the sins of men, going against the word of the Lord, and is in the wrong; ^5:7Let them say openly what they have done; and make payment for the wrong done, with the addition of a fifth part, and give it to him to whom the wrong was done. ^5:8But if the man has no relation to whom the payment may be made, then the payment for sin made to the Lord will be the priest's, in addition to the sheep offered to take away his sin. ^5:9And every offering lifted up of all the holy things which the children of Israel give to the priest, will be his. ^5:10And every man's holy things will be his: whatever a man gives to the priest will be his. ^5:11And the Lord said to Moses, ^5:12Say to the children of Israel, If any man's wife does wrong, sinning against him ^5:13By taking as her lover another man, and keeps it secret so that her husband has no knowledge of it, and there is no witness against her, and she is not taken in the act; ^5:14If the spirit of doubt comes into her husband's heart, and he has doubts of his wife, with good cause; or if he has doubts of her without cause: ^5:15Then let him take her to the priest, offering for her the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal, without oil or perfume; for it is a meal offering of a bitter spirit, a meal offering keeping wrongdoing in mind. ^5:16And the priest will make her come near and put her before the Lord; ^5:17And the priest will take holy water in a pot and put in it dust from the floor of the House; ^5:18And he will make the woman come before the Lord with her hair loose, and will put the meal offering, the offering of a bitter spirit, in her hands; and the priest will take in his hand the bitter water causing the curse; ^5:19And he will make her take an oath, and say to her, If no man has been your lover and you have not been with another in place of your husband, you are free from this bitter water causing the curse; ^5:20But if you have been with another in place of your husband and have made yourself unclean with a lover: ^5:21Then the priest will put the oath of the curse on the woman, and say to her, May the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, sending on you wasting of the legs and disease of the stomach; ^5:22And this water of the curse will go into your body, causing disease of your stomach and wasting of your legs: and the woman will say, So be it. ^5:23And the priest will put these curses in a book, washing out the writing with the bitter water; ^5:24And he will give to the woman the bitter water for drink; and the bitter water causing the curse will go into her. ^5:25And the priest will take from her hand the meal offering of doubt, waving it before the Lord, and will take it to the altar; ^5:26And he will take some of it in his hand, burning it on the altar as a sign, and then he will give the woman the bitter water. ^5:27And it will be that if the woman has become unclean, sinning against her husband, when she has taken the bitter water it will go into her body, causing disease of the stomach and wasting of the legs, and she will be a curse among her people. ^5:28But if she is clean she will be free and will have offspring. ^5:29This is the law for testing a wife who goes with another in place of her husband and becomes unclean; ^5:30Or for a husband who, in a bitter spirit, has doubts in his heart about his wife; let him take her to the priest, who will put in force this law. ^5:31Then the man will be free from all wrong, and the woman's sin will be on her.

^6:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^6:2Say to the children of Israel, If a man or a woman takes an oath to keep himself separate and give himself to the Lord; ^6:3He is to keep himself from wine and strong drink, and take no mixed wine or strong drink or any drink made from grapes, or any grapes, green or dry. ^6:4All the time he is separate he may take nothing made from the grape-vine, from its seeds to its skin. ^6:5All the time he is under his oath let no blade come near his head; till the days while he is separate are ended he is holy and his hair may not be cut. ^6:6All the time he is separate he may not come near any dead body. ^6:7He may not make himself unclean for his father or his mother, his sister or his brother, if death comes to them; because he is under an oath to keep himself separate for God. ^6:8All the time he is separate he is holy to the Lord. ^6:9If death comes suddenly to a man at his side, so that he becomes unclean, let his hair be cut off on the day when he is made clean, on the seventh day. ^6:10And on the eighth day let him take to the priest, at the door of the Tent of meeting, two doves or two young pigeons; ^6:11And the priest will give one for a sin-offering and the other for a burned offering to take away the sin which came on him on account of the dead, and he will make his head holy that same day. ^6:12And he will give to the Lord his days of being separate, offering a he-lamb of the first year as an offering for error: but the earlier days will be a loss, because he became unclean. ^6:13And this is the law for him who is separate, when the necessary days are ended: he is to come to the door of the Tent of meeting, ^6:14And make his offering to the Lord; one he-lamb of the first year, without a mark, for a burned offering, and one female lamb of the first year, without a mark, for a sin-offering, and one male sheep, without a mark, for peace-offerings, ^6:15And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of the best meal mixed with oil, and thin unleavened cakes covered with oil, with their meal offering and drink offerings. ^6:16And the priest will take them before the Lord, and make his sin-offering and his burned offering; ^6:17Giving the sheep of the peace-offerings, with the basket of unleavened bread; and at the same time, the priest will make his meal offering and his drink offering. ^6:18Then let his long hair, the sign of his oath, be cut off at the door of the Tent of meeting, and let him put it on the fire on which the peace-offerings are burning. ^6:19And the priest will take the cooked leg of the sheep and one unleavened cake and one thin cake out of the basket, and put them on the hands of the separate one after his hair has been cut, ^6:20Waving them for a wave offering before the Lord; this is holy for the priest, together with the waved breast and the leg which is lifted up; after that, the man may take wine. ^6:21This is the law for him who takes an oath to keep himself separate, and for his offering to the Lord on that account, in addition to what he may be able to get; this is the law of his oath, which he will have to keep. ^6:22And the Lord said to Moses, ^6:23Say to Aaron and his sons, These are the words of blessing which are to be used by you in blessing the children of Israel; say to them, ^6:24May the Lord send his blessing on you and keep you: ^6:25May the light of the Lord's face be shining on you in grace: ^6:26May the Lord's approval be resting on you and may he give you peace. ^6:27So they will put my name on the children of Israel, and I will give them my blessing.

^7:1And when Moses had put up the House completely, and had put oil on it and made it holy, with all the things in it, and had made the altar and all its vessels holy with oil; ^7:2Then the chiefs of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, made offerings; these were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were numbered. ^7:3And they came with their offerings before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for every two of the chiefs, and for every one an ox. ^7:4And the Lord said to Moses, ^7:5Take the things from them, to be used for the work of the Tent of meeting; and give them to the Levites, to every man what is needed for his work. ^7:6So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ^7:7Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon for their work; ^7:8And four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari for their work, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. ^7:9But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing; because they had the care of the holy place, taking it about on their backs. ^7:10And the chiefs gave an offering for the altar on the day when the holy oil was put on it; they made their offering before the altar. ^7:11And the Lord said to Moses, Let every chief on his day give his offering to make the altar holy. ^7:12And he who made his offering on the first day was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: ^7:13And his offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:14One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice for burning; ^7:15One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:16One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:17And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. ^7:18On the second day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, chief of Issachar, made his offering: ^7:19He gave one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:20One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:21One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:22One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:23And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethanel, the son of Zuar. ^7:24On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, chief of the children of Zebulun: ^7:25His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:26One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:27One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:28One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:29And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab, the son of Helon. ^7:30On the fourth day Elizur, the son of Shedeur, chief of the children of Reuben: ^7:31His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:32One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:33One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:34One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:35And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur, the son of Shedeur. ^7:36On the fifth day Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, chief of the children of Simeon: ^7:37His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:38One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:39One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:40One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:41And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. ^7:42On the sixth day Eliasaph, the son of Reuel, chief of the children of Gad: ^7:43His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:44One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:45One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:46One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:47And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph, the son of Reuel ^7:48On the seventh day Elishama, the son of Ammihud, chief of the children of Ephraim: ^7:49His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:50One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:51One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:52One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:53And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama, the son of Ammihud. ^7:54On the eighth day Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, chief of the children of Manasseh: ^7:55His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:56One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:57One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:58One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:59And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. ^7:60On the ninth day Abidan, the son of Gideoni, chief of the children of Benjamin: ^7:61His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:62One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:63One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year for a burned offering; ^7:64One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:65And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan, the son of Gideoni. ^7:66On the tenth day Ahiezer; the son of Ammishaddai, chief of the children of Dan: ^7:67His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:68One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:69One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:70One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:71And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. ^7:72On the eleventh day Pagiel, the son of Ochran, chief of the children of Asher: ^7:73His offering was one silver plate; a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:74One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:75One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:76One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:77And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel, the son of Ochran. ^7:78On the twelfth day Ahira, the son of Enan, chief of the children of Naphtali: ^7:79His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; ^7:80One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; ^7:81One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; ^7:82One male of the goats for a sin-offering; ^7:83And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira, the son of Enan. ^7:84These were the offerings given for the altar by the chiefs of Israel, when the holy oil was put on it: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve gold spoons; ^7:85The weight of every silver plate was a hundred and thirty shekels, and of every basin seventy; the weight of all the silver of the vessels was two thousand and four hundred shekels, by the scale of the holy place; ^7:86The weight of the twelve gold spoons of spice for burning was ten shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place; all the gold of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels; ^7:87All the oxen, for the burned offering were twelve, the male sheep twelve, the he-lambs of the first year twelve, with their meal offering; and the males of the goats for sin-offering twelve; ^7:88And all the oxen for the peace-offerings, twenty-four oxen, the male sheep sixty, and the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs of the first year sixty. This was given for the altar after the holy oil was put on it. ^7:89And when Moses went into the Tent of meeting to have talk with him, then the Voice came to his ears from over the cover which was on the ark of witness, from between the two winged ones. And he had talk with him.

^8:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^8:2Say to Aaron, When you put the lights in their places, the seven lights will give light in front of the support. ^8:3And Aaron did so; he put the lights in their places so that they gave light in front of the support, as the Lord gave orders to Moses. ^8:4The support for the lights was of hammered gold work, from its base to its flowers it was of hammered work; from the design which the Lord had given to Moses, he made the support for the lights. ^8:5And the Lord said to Moses, ^8:6Take the Levites out from among the children of Israel and make them clean. ^8:7And this is how you are to make them clean: let the holy water which takes away sin be put on them, and let the hair all over their bodies be cut off with a sharp blade, and let their clothing be washed and their bodies made clean. ^8:8Then let them take a young ox and its meal offering, crushed grain mixed with oil, and take another ox for a sin-offering. ^8:9And make the Levites come forward in front of the Tent of meeting, and let all the children of Israel come together: ^8:10And you are to take the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel are to put their hands on them: ^8:11And Aaron is to give the Levites to the Lord as a wave offering from the children of Israel, so that they may do the Lord's work. ^8:12And the Levites are to put their hands on the heads of the oxen, and one of the oxen is to be offered for a sin-offering and the other for a burned offering to the Lord to take away the sin of the Levites. ^8:13Then the Levites are to be put before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the Lord. ^8:14So you are to make the Levites separate from the children of Israel, and the Levites will be mine. ^8:15After that, the Levites will go in to do whatever has to be done in the Tent of meeting; you are to make them clean and give them as a wave offering. ^8:16For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself. ^8:17For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine. ^8:18And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites. ^8:19And I have given them to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to undertake for them all the work of the Tent of meeting, and to take away sin from the children of Israel so that no evil may come on them when they come near the holy place. ^8:20All these things Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel did to the Levites; as the Lord gave orders to Moses about the Levites, so the children of Israel did. ^8:21And the Levites were made clean from sin, and their clothing was washed, and Aaron gave them for a wave offering before the Lord; and Aaron took away their sin and made them clean. ^8:22And then the Levites went in to do their work in the Tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons: all the orders which the Lord had given Moses about the Levites were put into effect. ^8:23And the Lord said to Moses, ^8:24This is the rule for the Levites: those of twenty-five years old and over are to go in and do the work of the Tent of meeting; ^8:25But after they are fifty years old, they are to give up their work and do no more; ^8:26But be with their brothers in the Tent of meeting, taking care of it but doing no work. This is what you are to do in connection with the Levites and their work.

^9:1And the Lord said to Moses, in the waste land of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, ^9:2Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its regular time. ^9:3In the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you are to keep it at the regular time, and in the way ordered in the law. ^9:4And Moses gave orders to the children of Israel to keep the Passover. ^9:5So they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the waste land of Sinai: as the Lord gave orders to Moses, so the children of Israel did. ^9:6And there were certain men who were unclean because of a dead body, so that they were not able to keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: ^9:7And these men said to him, We have been made unclean by the dead body of a man; why may we not make the offering of the Lord at the regular time among the children of Israel? ^9:8And Moses said to them, Do nothing till the Lord gives me directions about you. ^9:9And the Lord said to Moses, ^9:10Say to the children of Israel, If any one of you or of your families is unclean because of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, still he is to keep the Passover to the Lord: ^9:11In the second month, on the fourteenth day, in the evening, they are to keep it, taking it with unleavened bread and bitter-tasting plants; ^9:12Nothing of it is to be kept till the morning, and no bone of it is to be broken: they are to keep it by the rules of the Passover. ^9:13But the man who, not being unclean or on a journey, does not keep the Passover, will be cut off from his people: because he did not make the offering of the Lord at the regular time, his sin will be on him. ^9:14And if a man from another country is among you and has a desire to keep the Passover to the Lord, let him do as is ordered in the law of the Passover: there is to be the same rule for the man from another nation and for him who had his birth in the land. ^9:15And on the day when the House was put up, the cloud came down on it, on the Tent of witness; and in the evening there was a light like fire over the House till the morning. ^9:16And so it was at all times: it was covered by the cloud, and by a light as of fire by night. ^9:17And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the House, then the children of Israel went journeying on; and in the place where the cloud came to rest, there the children of Israel put up their tents. ^9:18At the order of the Lord the children of Israel went forward, and at the order of the Lord they put up their tents: as long as the cloud was resting on the House, they did not go away from that place. ^9:19When the cloud was resting on the House for a long time the children of Israel, waiting for the order of the Lord, did not go on. ^9:20Sometimes the cloud was resting on the House for two or three days; then, by the order of the Lord, they kept their tents in that place, and when the Lord gave the order they went on. ^9:21And sometimes the cloud was there only from evening to morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning they went on their journey again: or if it was resting there by day and by night, whenever the cloud was taken up they went forward. ^9:22Or if the cloud came to rest on the House for two days or a month or a year without moving, the children of Israel went on waiting there and did not go on; but whenever it was taken up they went forward on their journey. ^9:23At the word of the Lord they put up their tents, and at the word of the Lord they went forward on their journey: they kept the orders of the Lord as he gave them by Moses.

^10:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^10:2Make two silver horns of hammered work, to be used for getting the people together and to give the sign for the moving of the tents. ^10:3When they are sounded, all the people are to come together to you at the door of the Tent of meeting. ^10:4If only one of them is sounded, then the chiefs, the heads of the thousands of Israel, are to come to you. ^10:5When a loud note is sounded, the tents placed on the east side are to go forward. ^10:6At the sound of a second loud note, the tents on the south side are to go forward: the loud note will be the sign to go forward. ^10:7But when all the people are to come together, the horn is to be sounded but not loudly. ^10:8The horns are to be sounded by the sons of Aaron, the priests; this is to be a law for you for ever, from generation to generation. ^10:9And if you go to war in your land against any who do you wrong, then let the loud note of the horn be sounded; and the Lord your God will keep you in mind and give you salvation from those who are against you. ^10:10And on days of joy and on your regular feasts and on the first day of every month, let the horns be sounded over your burned offerings and your peace-offerings; and they will put the Lord in mind of you: I am the Lord your God. ^10:11Now in the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud was taken up from over the Tent of witness. ^10:12And the children of Israel went on their journey out of the waste land of Sinai; and the cloud came to rest in the waste land of Paran. ^10:13They went forward for the first time on their journey as the Lord had given orders by the hand of Moses. ^10:14First the flag of the children of Judah went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. ^10:15And at the head of the army of the children of Issachar was Nethanel, the son of Zuar. ^10:16And at the head of the army of the children of Zebulun was Eliab, the son of Helon. ^10:17Then the House was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were responsible for moving the House, went forward. ^10:18Then the flag of the children of Reuben went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Elizur, the son of Shedeur. ^10:19And at the head of the army of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. ^10:20At the head of the army of the children of Gad was Eliasaph, the son of Reuel. ^10:21Then the Kohathites went forward with the holy place; the others put up the House ready for their coming. ^10:22Then the flag of the children of Ephraim went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Elishama, the son of Ammihud. ^10:23At the head of the army of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. ^10:24At the head of the army of the children of Benjamin was Abidan, the son of Gideoni. ^10:25And the flag of the children of Dan, whose tents were moved last of all, went forward with their armies: and at the head of his army was Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. ^10:26At the head of the army of the children of Asher was Pagiel, the son of Ochran. ^10:27And at the head of the army of the children of Naphtali was Ahira, the son of Enan. ^10:28This was the order in which the children of Israel were journeying by armies; so they went forward. ^10:29Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of his father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, We are journeying to that place of which the Lord has said, I will give it to you: so come with us, and it will be for your profit: for the Lord has good things in store for Israel. ^10:30But he said, I will not go with you, I will go back to the land of my birth and to my relations. ^10:31And he said, Do not go from us; for you will be eyes for us, guiding us to the right places in the waste land to put up our tents. ^10:32And if you come with us, we will give you a part in whatever good the Lord does for us. ^10:33So they went forward three days' journey from the mountain of the Lord; and the ark of the Lord's agreement went three days' journey before them, looking for a resting-place for them; ^10:34And by day the cloud of the Lord went over them, when they went forward from the place where they had put up their tents. ^10:35And when the ark went forward Moses said, Come up, O Lord, and let the armies of those who are against you be broken, and let your haters go in flight before you. ^10:36And when it came to rest, he said, Take rest, O Lord, and give a blessing to the families of Israel.

^11:1Now the people were saying evil against the Lord; and the Lord, hearing it, was angry and sent fire on them, burning the outer parts of the tent-circle. ^11:2And the people made an outcry to Moses, and Moses made prayer to the Lord, and the fire was stopped. ^11:3So that place was named Taberah, because of the fire of the Lord which had been burning among them. ^11:4And the mixed band of people who went with them were overcome by desire: and the children of Israel, weeping again, said, Who will give us flesh for our food? ^11:5Sweet is the memory of the fish we had in Egypt for nothing, and the fruit and green plants of every sort, sharp and pleasing to the taste: ^11:6But now our soul is wasted away; there is nothing at all: we have nothing but this manna before our eyes. ^11:7Now the manna was like a seed of grain, like small clear drops. ^11:8The people went about taking it up from the earth, crushing it between stones or hammering it to powder, and boiling it in pots, and they made cakes of it: its taste was like the taste of cakes cooked with oil. ^11:9When the dew came down on the tents at night, the manna came down with it. ^11:10And at the sound of the people weeping, every man at his tent-door, the wrath of the Lord was great, and Moses was very angry. ^11:11And Moses said to the Lord, Why have you done me this evil? and why have I not grace in your eyes, that you have put on me the care of all this people? ^11:12Am I the father of all this people? have I given them birth, that you say to me, Take them in your arms, like a child at the breast, to the land which you gave by an oath to their fathers? ^11:13Where am I to get flesh to give to all this people? For they are weeping to me and saying, Give us flesh for our food. ^11:14I am not able by myself to take the weight of all this people, for it is more than my strength. ^11:15If this is to be my fate, put me to death now in answer to my prayer, if I have grace in your eyes; and let me not see my shame. ^11:16And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you. ^11:17And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself. ^11:18And say to the people, Make yourselves clean before tomorrow and you will have flesh for your food: for in the ears of the Lord you have been weeping and saying, Who will give us flesh for food? for we were well off in Egypt: and so the Lord will give you flesh, and it will be your food; ^11:19Not for one day only, or even for five or ten or twenty days; ^11:20But every day for a month, till you are tired of it, turning from it in disgust: because you have gone against the Lord who is with you, and have been weeping before him saying, Why did we come out of Egypt? ^11:21Then Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot; and you have said, I will give them flesh to be their food for a month. ^11:22Are flocks and herds to be put to death for them? or are all the fish in the sea to be got together so that they may be full? ^11:23And the Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord's hand become short? Now you will see if my word comes true for you or not. ^11:24And Moses went out and gave the people the words of the Lord: and he took seventy of the responsible men of the people, placing them round the Tent. ^11:25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and had talk with him, and put on the seventy men some of the spirit which was on him: now when the spirit came to rest on them, they were like prophets, but only at that time. ^11:26But two men were still in the tent-circle one of them named Eldad and the other Medad: and the spirit came to rest on them; they were among those who had been sent for, but they had not gone out to the Tent: and the prophet's power came on them in the tent-circle. ^11:27And a young man went running to Moses and said, Eldad and Medad are acting as prophets in the tent-circle. ^11:28Then Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been Moses' servant from the time when he was a child, said, My lord Moses, let them be stopped. ^11:29And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them! ^11:30Then Moses, with the responsible men of Israel, went back to the tent-circle. ^11:31Then the Lord sent a wind, driving little birds from the sea, so that they came down on the tents, and all round the tent-circle, about a day's journey on this side and on that, in masses about two cubits high over the face of the earth. ^11:32And all that day and all night and the day after, the people were taking up the birds; the smallest amount which anyone got was ten homers: and they put them out all round the tents. ^11:33But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was tasted, the wrath of the Lord was moved against the people and he sent a great outburst of disease on them. ^11:34So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah; because there they put in the earth the bodies of the people who had given way to their desires. ^11:35From Kibroth-hattaavah the people went on to Hazeroth; and there they put up their tents.

^12:1Now Miriam and Aaron said evil against Moses, because of the Cushite woman to whom he was married, for he had taken a Cushite woman as his wife. ^12:2And they said, Have the words of the Lord been given to Moses only? have they not come to us? And the Lord took note of it. ^12:3Now the man Moses was more gentle than any other man on earth. ^12:4And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the Tent of meeting. And the three of them went out. ^12:5And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, taking his place at the door of the Tent, and made Aaron and Miriam come before him. ^12:6And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream. ^12:7My servant Moses is not so; he is true to me in all my house: ^12:8With him I will have talk mouth to mouth, openly and not in dark sayings; and with his eyes he will see the form of the Lord: why then had you no fear of saying evil against my servant Moses? ^12:9And burning with wrath against them, the Lord went away. ^12:10And the cloud was moved from over the Tent; and straight away Miriam became a leper, as white as snow: and Aaron, looking at Miriam, saw that she was a leper. ^12:11Then Aaron said to Moses, O my lord, let not our sin be on our heads, for we have done foolishly and are sinners. ^12:12Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half wasted when he comes out from the body of his mother. ^12:13And Moses, crying to the Lord, said, Let my prayer come before you, O God, and make her well. ^12:14And the Lord said to Moses, If her father had put a mark of shame on her, would she not be shamed for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the tent-circle for seven days, and after that she may come in again. ^12:15So Miriam was shut up outside the tent-circle for seven days: and the people did not go forward on their journey till Miriam had come in again. ^12:16After that, the people went on from Hazeroth and put up their tents in the waste land of Paran.

^13:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^13:2Send men to get knowledge about the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from every tribe of their fathers you are to send a man, every one a chief among them. ^13:3And Moses sent them from the waste land of Paran as the Lord gave orders, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. ^13:4And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua, the son of Zaccur. ^13:5Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori. ^13:6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. ^13:7Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal, the son of Joseph. ^13:8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Nun. ^13:9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu. ^13:10Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi. ^13:11Of the tribe of Joseph, that is of the family of Manasseh, Gaddi, the son of Susi. ^13:12Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel, the son of Gemalli. ^13:13Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur, the son of Michael ^13:14Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi, the son of Vophsi. ^13:15Of the tribe of Gad, Gevel, the son of Machi. ^13:16These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to get knowledge about the land. And Moses gave to Hoshea, the son of Nun, the name of Joshua. ^13:17So Moses sent them to have a look at the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up into the South and into the hill-country; ^13:18And see what the land is like; and if the people living in it are strong or feeble, small or great in number; ^13:19And what sort of land they are living in, if it is good or bad; and what their living-places are, tent-circles or walled towns; ^13:20And if the land is fertile or poor, and if there is wood in it or not. And be of good heart, and come back with some of the produce of the land. Now it was the time when the first grapes were ready. ^13:21So they went up and got a view of the land, from the waste land of Zin to Rehob, on the way to Hamath. ^13:22They went up into the South and came to Hebron; and Ahiman and Sheshai and Talmai, the children of Anak, were living there. (Now the building of Hebron took place seven years before that of Zoan in Egypt.) ^13:23And they came to the valley of Eshcol, and cutting down a vine-branch with its grapes, two of them took it on a rod between them; and they took some pomegranates and figs. ^13:24That place was named the valley of Eshcol because of the grapes which the children of Israel took from there. ^13:25At the end of forty days they came back from viewing the land. ^13:26And they came back to Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel, to Kadesh in the waste land of Paran; and gave an account to them and to all the people and let them see the produce of the land. ^13:27And they said, We came to the land where you sent us, and truly it is flowing with milk and honey: and here is some of the produce of it. ^13:28But the people living in the land are strong, and the towns are walled and very great; further, we saw the children of Anak there. ^13:29And the Amalekites are in the South; and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill-country; and the Canaanites by the sea and by the side of Jordan. ^13:30Then Caleb made signs to the people to keep quiet, and said to Moses, Let us go up straight away and take this land; for we are well able to overcome it. ^13:31But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. ^13:32And they gave the children of Israel a bad account of the land they had been to see, saying, This land through which we went is a land causing destruction to those living in it; and all the people we saw there are men of more than common size. ^13:33There we saw those great men, the sons of Anak, offspring of the Nephilim: and we seemed to ourselves no more than insects, and so we seemed to them.

^14:1Then all the people gave load cries of grief, and all that night they gave themselves up to weeping. ^14:2And all the children of Israel, crying out against Moses and Aaron, said, If only we had come to our death in the land of Egypt, or even in this waste land! ^14:3Why is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? ^14:4And they said to one another, Let us make a captain over us, and go back to Egypt. ^14:5Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people. ^14:6And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, two of those who had been to see the land, giving signs of grief, ^14:7Said to all the children of Israel, This land which we went through to see is a very good land. ^14:8And if the Lord has delight in us, he will take us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ^14:9Only, do not go against the Lord or go in fear of the people of the land, for they will be our food; their strength has been taken from them and the Lord is with us: have no fear of them. ^14:10But all the people said they were to be stoned. Then the glory of the Lord was seen in the Tent of meeting, before the eyes of all the children of Israel. ^14:11And the Lord said to Moses, How long will this people have no respect for me? how long will they be without faith, in the face of all the signs I have done among them? ^14:12I will send disease on them for their destruction, and take away their heritage, and I will make of you a nation greater and stronger than they. ^14:13And Moses said to the Lord, Then it will come to the ears of the Egyptians; for by your power you took this people out from among them; ^14:14And they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. ^14:15Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say, ^14:16Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land. ^14:17So now, may my prayer come before you, and let the power of the Lord be great, as you said: ^14:18The Lord is slow to wrath and great in mercy, overlooking wrongdoing and evil, and will not let wrongdoers go free; sending punishment on children for the sins of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation. ^14:19May the sin of this people have forgiveness, in the measure of your great mercy, as you have had mercy on them from Egypt up till now. ^14:20And the Lord said, I have had mercy, as you say: ^14:21But truly, as I am living, and as all the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord; ^14:22Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear to my voice; ^14:23They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will see it. ^14:24But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage. ^14:25Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites are in the valley; tomorrow, turning round, go into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea. ^14:26Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^14:27How long am I to put up with this evil people and their outcries against me? The words which they say against me have come to my ears. ^14:28Say to them, By my life, says the Lord, as certainly as your words have come to my ears, so certainly will I do this to you: ^14:29Your dead bodies will be stretched out in this waste land; and of all your number, all those of twenty years old and over who have been crying out against me, ^14:30Not one will come into the land which I gave my word you would have for your resting-place, but only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. ^14:31And your little ones, whom you said would come into strange hands, I will take in, and they will see the land which you would not have. ^14:32But as for you, your dead bodies will be stretched in this waste land. ^14:33And your children will be wanderers in the waste land for forty years, undergoing punishment for your false ways, till your bodies become dust in the waste land. ^14:34And as you went through the land viewing it for forty days, so for forty years, a year for every day, you will undergo punishment for your wrongdoing, and you will see that I am against you. ^14:35I the Lord have said it, and this I will certainly do to all this evil people who have come together against me: in this waste land destruction will come on them, and death will be their fate. ^14:36And the men whom Moses sent to see the land, and who, by the bad account they gave of the land, were the cause of the outcry the people made against Moses, ^14:37Those same men who said evil of the land, came to their death by disease before the Lord. ^14:38But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, of those who went to see the land, were not touched by disease. ^14:39And when Moses put these words before the children of Israel, the people were full of grief. ^14:40And early in the morning they got up and went to the top of the mountain, saying, We are here and we will go up to the place which the Lord said he would give us: for we have done wrong. ^14:41And Moses said, Why are you now acting against the Lord's order, seeing that no good will come of it? ^14:42Go not up, for the Lord is not with you, and you will be overcome by those who are fighting against you. ^14:43For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you will be put to death by their swords: because you have gone back from the way of the Lord, the Lord will not be with you. ^14:44But they gave no attention to his words and went to the top of the mountain, though Moses and the ark of the Lord's agreement did not go out of the tent-circle. ^14:45Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites who were living in the hill-country, and overcame them completely, driving them back as far as Hormah.

^15:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^15:2Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving to you for your resting-place, ^15:3And are going to make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burned offering or an offering in connection with an oath, or an offering freely given, or at your regular feasts, an offering for a sweet smell to the Lord, from the herd or the flock: ^15:4Then let him who is making his offering, give to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of a measure of the best meal mixed with a fourth part of a hin of oil: ^15:5And for the drink offering, you are to give with the burned offering or other offering, the fourth part of a hin of wine for every lamb. ^15:6Or for a male sheep, give as a meal offering two tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with a third part of a hin of oil: ^15:7And for the drink offering give a third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the Lord. ^15:8And when you make ready a young ox for a burned or other offering, or for the effecting of an oath, or for peace-offerings to the Lord: ^15:9Then with the ox give a meal offering of three tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with half a hin of oil. ^15:10And for the drink offering: give half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord. ^15:11This is to be done for every young ox and for every male sheep or he-lamb or young goat. ^15:12Whatever number you make ready, so you are to do for every one. ^15:13All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord. ^15:14And if a man from another country or any other person living among you, through all your generations, has the desire to give an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord, let him do as you do. ^15:15There is to be one law for you and for the man of another country living with you, one law for ever from generation to generation; as you are, so is he to be before the Lord. ^15:16The law and the rule are to be the same for you and for those from other lands living with you. ^15:17And the Lord said to Moses, ^15:18Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land where I am guiding you, ^15:19Then, when you take for your food the produce of the land, you are to give an offering lifted up before the Lord. ^15:20Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up. ^15:21From generation to generation you are to give to the Lord a lifted offering from the first of your rough meal. ^15:22And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses, ^15:23All the laws which the Lord has given you by the hand of Moses, from the day when the Lord gave them, and ever after from generation to generation; ^15:24Then, if the wrong is done in error, without the knowledge of the meeting of the people, let all the meeting give a young ox as a burned offering, a sweet smell to the Lord, with its meal offering and its drink offering, as is ordered in the law, together with a he-goat for a sin-offering. ^15:25So the priest will make the people free from sin, and they will have forgiveness; for it was an error, and they have given their offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin-offering before the Lord, on account of their error: ^15:26And all the meeting of the children of Israel, as well as those from other lands living among them, will have forgiveness; for it was an error on the part of the people. ^15:27And if one person does wrong, without being conscious of it, then let him give a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. ^15:28And the priest will take away the sin of the person who has done wrong, if the wrong was done unconsciously, and he will have forgiveness. ^15:29The law in connection with wrong done unconsciously is to be the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from another country who is living among them. ^15:30But the person who does wrong in the pride of his heart, if he is one of you or of another nation by birth, is acting without respect for the Lord, and will be cut off from his people. ^15:31Because he had no respect for the word of the Lord, and did not keep his law, that man will be cut off without mercy and his sin will be on him. ^15:32Now while the children of Israel were in the waste land, they saw a man who was getting sticks on the Sabbath day. ^15:33And those who saw him getting sticks took him before Moses and Aaron and all the people. ^15:34And they had him shut up, because they had no directions about what was to be done with him. ^15:35Then the Lord said to Moses, Certainly the man is to be put to death: let him be stoned by all the people outside the tent-circle. ^15:36So all the people took him outside the tent-circle and he was stoned to death there, as the Lord gave orders to Moses. ^15:37And the Lord said to Moses, ^15:38Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord; ^15:39So that, looking on these ornaments, you may keep in mind the orders of the Lord and do them; and not be guided by the desires of your hearts and eyes, through which you have been untrue to me: ^15:40And that you may keep in mind all my orders and do them and be holy to your God. ^15:41I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be your God: I am the Lord your God.

^16:1Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready, ^16:2And came before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the people, men of good name who had a place in the meeting of the people. ^16:3They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord? ^16:4And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face; ^16:5And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him. ^16:6So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes; ^16:7And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi. ^16:8And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi: ^16:9Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them; ^16:10Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests? ^16:11So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him? ^16:12Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up: ^16:13Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us? ^16:14And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. ^16:15Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them. ^16:16And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron: ^16:17And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel. ^16:18So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. ^16:19And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people. ^16:20And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^16:21Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. ^16:22Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people? ^16:23And the Lord said to Moses, ^16:24Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram. ^16:25So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him. ^16:26And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins. ^16:27So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones. ^16:28And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself. ^16:29If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me. ^16:30But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men. ^16:31And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two; ^16:32And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods. ^16:33So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people. ^16:34And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth. ^16:35Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume. ^16:36And the Lord said to Moses, ^16:37Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he is to take out of the flames the vessels with the perfumes in them, turning the fire out of them, for they are holy; ^16:38And let the vessels of those men, who with their lives have made payment for their sin, be hammered out into plates as a cover for the altar; for they have been offered before the Lord and are holy; so that they may be a sign to the children of Israel. ^16:39So Eleazar the priest took the brass vessels which had been offered by those who were burned up, and they were hammered out to make a cover for the altar: ^16:40To be a sign, kept in memory for ever by the children of Israel, that no man who is not of the seed of Aaron has the right of burning spices before the Lord, so that he may not be like Korah and his band: as the Lord said to him by the mouth of Moses. ^16:41But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people. ^16:42Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes. ^16:43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting. ^16:44And the Lord said to Moses, ^16:45Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces. ^16:46And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting. ^16:47And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people. ^16:48And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped. ^16:49Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done. ^16:50Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.

^17:1And the Lord said to Moses, ^17:2Say to the children of Israel that they are to give you rods, one for every family, for every chief, the head of his father's house, making twelve rods; let every man's name be placed on his rod. ^17:3And let Aaron's name be placed on the rod of Levi: for there is to be one rod for the head of every family. ^17:4And let them be stored up in the Tent of meeting, in front of the ark of witness where I come to you. ^17:5And the rod of that man who is marked out by me for myself will have buds on it; so I will put a stop to the outcries which the children of Israel make to me against you. ^17:6So Moses gave these orders to the children of Israel, and all their chiefs gave him rods, one for the head of every family, making twelve rods: and Aaron's rod was among them. ^17:7And Moses put the rods before the Lord in the Tent of witness. ^17:8Now on the day after, Moses went into the Tent of witness; and he saw that Aaron's rod, the rod of the house of Levi, had put out buds, and was covered with buds and flowers and fruit. ^17:9Then Moses took out all the rods from before the Lord, and gave them back to the children of Israel: and they saw them, and every man took his rod. ^17:10And the Lord said to Moses, Put Aaron's rod back in front of the ark of witness, to be kept for a sign against this false-hearted people, so that you may put a stop to their outcries against me, and death may not overtake them. ^17:11This Moses did: as the Lord gave orders, so he did. ^17:12And the children of Israel said to Moses, Truly, destruction has come on us; an evil fate has overtaken us all. ^17:13Death will overtake everyone who comes near, who comes near the House of the Lord: are we all to come to destruction?

^18:1And the Lord said to Aaron, You and your sons and your father's family are to be responsible for all wrongdoing in relation to the holy place: and you and your sons are to be responsible for the errors which come about in your work as priests. ^18:2Let your brothers, the family of Levi, come near with you, so that they may be joined with you and be your servants: but you and your sons with you are to go in before the ark of witness. ^18:3They are to do your orders and be responsible for the work of the Tent; but they may not come near the vessels of the holy place or the altar, so that death may not overtake them or you. ^18:4They are to be joined with you in the care of the Tent of meeting, doing whatever is needed for the Tent: and no one of any other family may come near you. ^18:5You are to be responsible for the holy place and the altar, so that wrath may never again come on the children of Israel. ^18:6Now, see, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel: they are given to you and to the Lord, to do the work of the Tent of meeting. ^18:7And you and your sons with you are to be responsible as priests for the altar and everything on it, and everything inside the veil; you are to do the work of priests; I have given you your position as priests; and any other man who comes near will be put to death. ^18:8And the Lord said to Aaron, See, I have given into your care my lifted offerings; even all the holy things of the children of Israel I have given to you and to your sons as your right for ever, because you have been marked with the holy oil. ^18:9This is to be yours of the most holy things, out of the fire offerings; every offering of theirs, every meal offering and sin-offering, and every offering which they make on account of error, is to be most holy for you and your sons. ^18:10As most holy things they are to be your food: let every male have them for food; it is to be holy to you. ^18:11And this is yours: the lifted offering which they give and all the wave offerings of the children of Israel I have given to you and to your sons and to your daughters as your right for ever: everyone in your house who is clean may have them for food. ^18:12All the best of the oil and the wine and the grain, the first-fruits of them which they give to the Lord, to you have I given them. ^18:13The earliest produce from their land which they take to the Lord is to be yours; everyone in your house who is clean may have it for his food. ^18:14Everything given by oath to the Lord in Israel is to be yours. ^18:15The first birth of every living thing which is offered to the Lord, of man or beast, is to be yours; but for the first sons of man payment is to be made, and for the first young of unclean beasts. ^18:16Payment is to be made for these when they are a month old, at the value fixed by you, a price of five shekels by the scale of the holy place, that is, twenty gerahs to the shekel. ^18:17But no such payment may be made for the first birth of an ox or a sheep or a goat; these are holy: their blood is to be dropped on the altar, and their fat burned for an offering made by fire, a sweet smell to the Lord. ^18:18Their flesh is to be yours; like the breast of the wave offering and the right leg, it is to be yours. ^18:19All the lifted offerings of the holy things which the children of Israel give to the Lord, I have given to you and to your sons and to your daughters as a right for ever. This is an agreement made with salt before the Lord, to you and to your seed for ever. ^18:20And the Lord said to Aaron, You will have no heritage in their land, or any part among them; I am your part and your heritage among the children of Israel. ^18:21And to the children of Levi I have given as their heritage all the tenths offered in Israel, as payment for the work they do, the work of the Tent of meeting. ^18:22In future the children of Israel are not to come near the Tent of meeting, so that death may not come to them because of sin. ^18:23But the Levites are to do the work of the Tent of meeting, and be responsible for errors in connection with it: this is a law for ever through all your generations; and among the children of Israel they will have no heritage. ^18:24For the tenths which the children of Israel give as a lifted offering to the Lord I have given to the Levites as their heritage. and so I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they will have no heritage. ^18:25And the Lord said to Moses, ^18:26Say to the Levites, When you take from the children of Israel the tenth which I have given to you from them as your heritage, a tenth part of that tenth is to be offered as an offering lifted up before the Lord. ^18:27And this lifted offering is to be put to your credit as if it was grain from the grain-floor and wine from the vines. ^18:28So you are to make an offering lifted up to the Lord from all the tenths which you get from the children of Israel, giving out of it the Lord's lifted offering to Aaron the priest. ^18:29From everything given to you, let the best of it, the holy part of it, be offered as a lifted offering to the Lord. ^18:30Say to them, then, When the best of it is lifted up on high, it is to be put to the account of the Levites as the increase of the grain-floor and of the place where the grapes are crushed. ^18:31It is to be your food, for you and your families in every place: it is your reward for your work in the Tent of meeting. ^18:32And no sin will be yours on account of it, when the best of it has been lifted up on high; you are not to make a wrong use of the holy things of the children of Israel, so that death may not overtake you.

^19:1And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^19:2This is the rule of the law which the Lord has made, saying, Give orders to the children of Israel to give you a red cow without any mark on her, and on which the yoke has never been put: ^19:3Give her to Eleazar the priest and let him take her outside the tent-circle and have her put to death before him. ^19:4Then let Eleazar the priest take some of her blood on his finger, shaking the blood seven times in the direction of the front of the Tent of meeting: ^19:5And the cow is to be burned before him, her skin and her flesh and her blood and her waste are to be burned: ^19:6Then let the priest take cedar-wood and hyssop and red thread, and put them into the fire where the cow is burning. ^19:7And the priest, after washing his clothing and bathing his body in water, may come back to the tent-circle, and will be unclean till evening. ^19:8And he who does the burning is to have his clothing washed and his body bathed in water and be unclean till evening. ^19:9Then let a man who is clean take the dust of the burned cow and put it outside the tent-circle in a clean place, where it is to be kept for the children of Israel and used in making the water which takes away what is unclean: it is a sin-offering. ^19:10And he who takes up the dust of the burned cow is to have his clothing washed with water and be unclean till evening: this is to be a law for ever, for the children of Israel as well as for the man from another country who is living among them. ^19:11Anyone touching a dead body will be unclean for seven days: ^19:12On the third day and on the seventh day he is to make himself clean with the water, and so he will be clean: but if he does not do this on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ^19:13Anyone touching the body of a dead man without making himself clean in this way, makes the House of the Lord unclean; and that man will be cut off from Israel: because the water was not put on him, he will be unclean; his unclean condition is unchanged. ^19:14This is the law when death comes to a man in his tent: everyone who comes into the tent, and everyone who is in the tent, will be unclean for seven days. ^19:15And every open vessel without a cover fixed on it will be unclean. ^19:16And anyone touching one who has been put to death with the sword in the open country, or the body of one who has come to his end by a natural death, or a man's bone, or the resting-place of a dead body, will be unclean for seven days. ^19:17And for the unclean, they are to take the dust of the burning of the sin-offering, and put flowing water on it in a vessel: ^19:18And a clean person is to take hyssop and put it in the water, shaking it over the tent, and all the vessels, and the people who were there, and over him by whom the bone, or the body of one who has been put to death with the sword, or the body of one who has come to his end by a natural death, or the resting-place was touched. ^19:19Let the clean person do this to the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he is to make him clean; and after washing his clothing and bathing himself in water, he will be clean in the evening. ^19:20But the man who, being unclean, does not make himself clean in this way, will be cut off from the meeting of the people, because he has made the holy place of the Lord unclean: the water has not been put on him, he is unclean. ^19:21This is to be a law for them for ever: he who puts the water on the unclean person is to have his clothing washed; and anyone touching the water will be unclean till evening. ^19:22Anything touched by the unclean person will be unclean; and any person touching it will be unclean till evening.

^20:1In the first month all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Zin, and put up their tents in Kadesh; there death came to Miriam, and they put her body to rest in the earth. ^20:2And there was no water for the people: and they came together against Moses and against Aaron. ^20:3And the people were angry with Moses and said, If only death had overtaken us when our brothers came to their death before the Lord! ^20:4Why have you taken the Lord's people into this waste, for death to come to us and to our cattle there? ^20:5Why have you made us come out of Egypt into this evil place? This is no place of seed or figs or vines or other fruits, and there is no water for drinking. ^20:6Then Moses and Aaron went away from the people to the door of the Tent of meeting; and, falling on their faces there, they saw the glory of the Lord. ^20:7And the Lord said to Moses, ^20:8Take the rod, you and Aaron, your brother, and make all the people come together, and before their eyes give orders to the rock to give out its water; and so make water come out of the rock for them, and give the people and their cattle drink. ^20:9And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he gave him orders. ^20:10Then Moses and Aaron made the people come together in front of the rock, and he said to them, Give ear now, you people whose hearts are turned from the Lord; are we to get water for you out of the rock? ^20:11And lifting up his hand, Moses gave the rock two blows with his rod: and water came streaming out, and the people and their cattle had drink enough. ^20:12Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you had not enough faith in me to keep my name holy before the children of Israel, you will not take this people into the land which I have given them. ^20:13These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel went against the Lord, and they saw that he was holy among them. ^20:14Then Moses sent men from Kadesh to the king of Edom to say to him, Your brother Israel says, You have knowledge of all the things we have been through; ^20:15How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we were living in Egypt for a long time; and the Egyptians were cruel to us and to our fathers: ^20:16And the Lord gave ear to the voice of our cry, and sent an angel and took us out of Egypt: and now we are in Kadesh, a town on the edge of your land; ^20:17Let us now go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway, not turning to the right or to the left, till we have gone past the limits of your land. ^20:18And Edom said, You are not to go through my land, for if you do I will come out against you with the sword. ^20:19And the children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway: and if we or our cattle take of your water, we will give you a price for it: only let us go through on our feet, nothing more. ^20:20But he said, You are not to go through. And Edom came out against them in his strength, with a great army. ^20:21So Edom would not let Israel go through his land; and Israel went in another direction. ^20:22And they went on from Kadesh, and came, with all their people, to Mount Hor. ^20:23And at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ^20:24Aaron will be put to rest with his people; he will not go into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you went against my word at the waters of Meribah. ^20:25So take Aaron and Eleazar, his son, up into Mount Hor; ^20:26And take Aaron's robes off him and put them on Eleazar, his son: and death will come to Aaron there, and he will be put to rest with his people. ^20:27So Moses did as the Lord had said, and before the eyes of all the people they went up Mount Hor. ^20:28And Moses took off Aaron's robes, and put them on Eleazar, his son; and there on the top of the mountain death came to Aaron: then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ^20:29And when the people saw that Aaron was dead, all the children of Israel gave themselves up to weeping for him for thirty days.

^21:1And it came to the ears of the Canaanite, the king of Arad, living in the South, that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, and he came out against them and took some of them prisoners. ^21:2Then Israel made an oath to the Lord, and said, If you will give up this people into my hands, then I will send complete destruction on all their towns. ^21:3And the Lord, in answer to the voice of Israel, gave the Canaanites up to them; and they put them and their towns completely to destruction: and that place was named Hormah. ^21:4Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way. ^21:5And crying out against God and against Moses, they said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to come to our death in the waste land? For there is no bread and no water, and this poor bread is disgusting to us. ^21:6Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel. ^21:7Then the people came to Moses and said, We have done wrong in crying out against the Lord and against you: make prayer to the Lord to take away the snakes from us. So Moses made prayer for the people. ^21:8And the Lord said to Moses, Make an image of a snake and put it on a rod, and anyone who has been wounded by the snakes, looking on it will be made well. ^21:9So Moses made a snake of brass and put it on a rod; and anyone who had a snakebite, after looking on the snake of brass, was made well. ^21:10Then the children of Israel went on and put up their tents in Oboth. ^21:11And journeying on again from Oboth, they put up their tents in Iye-abarim, in the waste land before Moab looking east. ^21:12And moving on from there, they put up their tents in the valley of Zered. ^21:13From there they went on and put up their tents on the other side of the Arnon, which is on the waste land at the edge of the land of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the line of division between Moab and the Amorites: ^21:14As it says in the book of the Wars of the Lord, Vaheb in Suphah, and the valley of the Amon; ^21:15The slope of the valleys going down to the tents of Ar and touching the edge of Moab. ^21:16From there they went on to Beer, the water-spring of which the Lord said to Moses, Make the people come together and I will give them water. ^21:17Then Israel gave voice to this song: Come up, O water-spring, let us make a song to it: ^21:18The fountain made by the chiefs, made deep by the great ones of the people, with the law-givers' rod, and with their sticks. Then from the waste land they went on to Mattanah: ^21:19And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: ^21:20And from Bamoth to the valley in the open country of Moab, and to the top of Pisgah looking over Jeshimon. ^21:21And Israel sent men to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, ^21:22Let me go through your land: we will not go into field or vine-garden, or take the water of the springs; we will go by the highway till we have gone past the limits of your land. ^21:23And Sihon would not let Israel go through his land; but got all his people together and went out against Israel into the waste land, as far as Jahaz, to make war on Israel. ^21:24But Israel overcame him, and took all his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the country of the children of Ammon, for the country of the children of Ammon was strongly armed. ^21:25And Israel took all their towns, living in Heshbon and all the towns and small places of the Amorites. ^21:26For Heshbon was the town of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had made war against an earlier king of Moab and taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon. ^21:27So the makers of wise sayings say, Come to Heshbon, building up the town of Sihon and making it strong: ^21:28For a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon: for the destruction of Ar in Moab, and the lords of the high places of the Arnon. ^21:29Sorrow is yours, O Moab! Destruction is your fate, O people of Chemosh: his sons have gone in flight, and his daughters are prisoners, in the hands of Sihon, king of the Amorites. ^21:30They are wounded with our arrows; destruction has come on Heshbon, even to Dibon; and we have made the land waste as far as Nophah, stretching out to Medeba. ^21:31So Israel put up their tents in the land of the Amorites. ^21:32And Moses sent men secretly to Jazer, and they took its towns, driving out the Amorites who were living there. ^21:33Then turning they went up by the way of Bashan; and Og, king of Bashan, went out against them with all his people, to the fight at Edrei. ^21:34And the Lord said to Moses, Have no fear of him: for I have given him up into your hands, with all his people and his land; do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, at Heshbon. ^21:35So they overcame him and his sons and his people, driving them all out: and they took his land for their heritage.

^22:1Then the children of Israel, journeying on, put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab, on the other side of Jordan at Jericho. ^22:2Now Balak, the son of Zippor, saw what Israel had done to the Amorites. ^22:3And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel. ^22:4Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab. ^22:5So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me: ^22:6Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed. ^22:7So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say. ^22:8And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night. ^22:9And God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you? ^22:10And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me, saying, ^22:11See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land. ^22:12And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing. ^22:13In the morning Balaam got up and said to the chiefs of Balak, Go back to your land, for the Lord will not let me go with you. ^22:14So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us. ^22:15So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others. ^22:16And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me: ^22:17For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people. ^22:18But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God. ^22:19So take your rest here this night, till I have knowledge what more the Lord has to say to me. ^22:20And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you. ^22:21So in the morning Balaam got up and, making his ass ready, went with the chiefs of Moab. ^22:22But God was moved to wrath because he went: and the angel of the Lord took up a position in the road to keep him from his purpose. Now he was seated on his ass, and his two servants were with him. ^22:23And the ass saw the angel of the Lord waiting in the road with his sword in his hand; and turning from the road, the ass went into the field; and Balaam gave the ass blows, to get her back on to the road. ^22:24Then the angel of the Lord took up his position in a narrow road through the vine-gardens, with a wall on this side and on that. ^22:25And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and went near the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against the wall; and he gave her more blows. ^22:26Then the angel of the Lord went further, stopping in a narrow place where there was no room for turning to the right or to the left. ^22:27And the ass saw the angel of the Lord and went down on the earth under Balaam; and full of wrath, Balaam gave her hard blows with his stick. ^22:28Then the Lord gave the ass the power of talking, and opening her mouth she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you have given me blows these three times? ^22:29And Balaam said to the ass, You have made me seem foolish: if only I had a sword in my hand I would put you to death. ^22:30And the ass said to Balaam, Am I not your ass upon which you have gone all your life till this day? and have I ever done this to you before? And he said, No. ^22:31Then the Lord made Balaam's eyes open, and he saw the angel of the Lord in the way with his sword in his hand: and he went down on his face to the earth. ^22:32And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you given your ass blows these three times? See, I have come out against you to keep you back, because your purpose is not pleasing to me. ^22:33And the ass saw me, turning to one side from me three times: if she had not gone to one side, I would certainly have put you to death and kept her safe. ^22:34And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have done wrong, for I did not see that you were in the way against me: but now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will go back again. ^22:35And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men; but say only what I give you to say. Then Balaam went on with the chiefs of Balak. ^22:36Now Balak, hearing that Balaam had come, went to the chief town of Moab, on the edge of the Arnon, in the farthest part of the land, for the purpose of meeting him. ^22:37And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you, requesting you with all my heart to come to me? why did you not come? am I not able to give you a place of honour? ^22:38Then Balaam said to Balak, Now I have come to you; but have I power to say anything? Only what God puts into my mouth may I say. ^22:39And Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-huzoth. ^22:40And Balak made offerings of oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and the chiefs who were with him. ^22:41And in the morning Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and from there he was able to see the outer limits of the people.

^23:1And Balaam said to Balak, Make me here seven altars and get ready seven oxen and seven male sheep. ^23:2And Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam made an offering on every altar of an ox and a male sheep. ^23:3Then Balaam said to Balak, Take your place by your burned offering, and I will go and see if the Lord comes to me: and I will give you word of whatever he says to me. And he went to an open place on a hill. ^23:4And God came to Balaam, and Balaam said to him, I have made ready seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar. ^23:5And the Lord put words in Balaam's mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say. ^23:6So he went back to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with all the chiefs of Moab. ^23:7And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, From Aram Balak has sent for me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: come, put curses on Jacob for me and be angry with Israel. ^23:8How may I put curses on him who is not cursed by God? how may I be angry with him with whom the Lord is not angry? ^23:9From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations. ^23:10Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his! ^23:11Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing. ^23:12And in answer he said, Am I not ordered to say only what the Lord puts into my mouth? ^23:13And Balak said to him, Come with me now into another place from which you will not be able to see them all, but only the outskirts of them; and you will send curses on them from there. ^23:14So he took him into the country of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and there they made seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar. ^23:15Then he said to Balak, Take your place here by your burned offering, while I go over there to the Lord. ^23:16And the Lord came to Balaam, and put words in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say. ^23:17So he came to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with the chiefs of Moab by his side. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said? ^23:18And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, Up! Balak, and give ear; give attention to me, O son of Zippor: ^23:19God is not a man, to say what is false; or the son of man, that his purpose may be changed: what he has said, will he not do? and will he not give effect to the words of his mouth? ^23:20See, I have had orders to give blessing: and he has given a blessing which I have no power to take away. ^23:21He has seen no evil in Jacob or wrongdoing in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the glad cry of a king is among them. ^23:22It is God who has taken them out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox. ^23:23No evil power has effect against Jacob, no secret arts against Israel; at the right time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel, See what God has done! ^23:24See, Israel comes up like a she-lion, lifting himself up like a lion: he will take no rest till he has made a meal of those he has overcome, drinking the blood of those he has put to death. ^23:25Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing. ^23:26But Balaam in answer said to Balak, Did I not say to you, I may only do what the Lord says? ^23:27Then Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take you to another place; it may be that God will let you put a curse on them from there. ^23:28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, looking down over the waste land. ^23:29And Balaam said to Balak, Make me seven altars here and get seven oxen and seven male sheep ready for me. ^23:30And Balak did as Balaam said, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.