They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

So Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin [against You], and have made themselves a god of gold.

When the people heard this sad word, they mourned, and none of them put on his ornaments.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed [when you learned of Israel’s idolatry].

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

Moses gathered all the congregation of the sons of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the things which the Lord has commanded you to do:

When you bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar [of burnt offering].

(just as these are removed from the ox of the sacrifice of peace offerings), and the priest is to offer them up in smoke on the altar of burnt offering.

Or if anyone swears [an oath] thoughtlessly or impulsively aloud that he will do either evil or good, in whatever manner a person may speak thoughtlessly or impulsively with an oath, but he is unaware of it, when he recognizes it, he will be guilty in one of these.

So it shall be when a person is guilty in one of these, that he shall confess the sin he has committed.

In this way the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in one of these things, and it will be forgiven him; then the rest shall be for the priest, like the grain offering.’”

and he put all these things in Aaron’s hands and his sons’ hands and presented them as a wave offering before the Lord.

Then Moses took these things from their hands and offered them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were a consecration (ordination) offering for a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Among all the animals which are on the earth, these are the animals which you may eat.

You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof [that is, a hoof split into two parts especially at its distal extremity] and chews the cud.

Nevertheless, you are not to eat these, among those which chew the cud or divide the hoof: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is [ceremonially] unclean to you.

‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat;

‘These you shall detest among the birds; they are not to be eaten, for they are hated things: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard,

Of these you may eat: the whole species of migratory locust, of bald locust, of cricket, and of grasshopper.

‘By [contact with] these you will become unclean; whoever touches their carcasses becomes unclean until the evening (dusk),

‘These also are unclean to you among the swarming things that crawl around on the ground [and multiply profusely]: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of great lizard,

These [creatures] are unclean to you among all that swarm; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening.

As for any earthenware container into which any of these [crawling things] falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the container.

Any of the food which may be eaten, but on which [unclean] water falls, shall become unclean, and any liquid that may be drunk in every container shall become unclean.

and the priest who cleanses him shall present the man to be cleansed and his offerings before the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

Of the rest of the oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be belted with the linen sash, and dressed with the linen turban (these are the holy garments). He shall bathe his body in water and put them on.

‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled.

But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments (precepts) and shall not commit any of these repulsive acts, neither the native-born, nor the stranger who lives temporarily among you

(for all these repulsive acts have been done by the men who lived in the land before you, and the land has become defiled);

[do none of these things] so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you.

For whoever commits any of these repulsive acts, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people [excluding them from the atonement made for them].

So keep My command: do not practice any of the repulsive customs which have been practiced before you, so as not to defile yourselves by them; I am the Lord your God.’”

You shall not follow the statutes (laws, practices, customs) of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them.

He may not marry a widow or a divorced woman or one who is profaned by prostitution, but he is to marry a virgin from his own people,

“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:

‘These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times:

‘These are the appointed times (established feasts) of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to present an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day.

Even if he is not redeemed during these years and under these provisions, then he shall go free in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him.

‘But if you do not obey Me and do not [obediently] do all these commandments,

‘And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me,

These are the statutes, ordinances, and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the Israelites through Moses at Mount Sinai.

These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai for the children of Israel.

These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: from [the tribe of] Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;

These men were the ones called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ (ancestors’) tribes; they were the heads of thousands [the highest ranking officers] in Israel.”

So Moses and Aaron took these men who were designated by name,

These were the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ household.

The total of the numbered men [in the three tribes on the east side] in the camp of Judah was 186,400, by their armies. They shall move out first [on the march].

These are the men of the Israelites [twenty years old and upward] as numbered by their fathers’ households. The total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, 603,550.

Now these are the records of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day when the Lord spoke [by special revelation] with Moses on Mount Sinai.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom Aaron consecrated and ordained to minister in the priest’s office.

These are the [three] sons of Levi by their names: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

These are the names of the [two] sons of Gershon by their families: Libni and Shimei;

and the [two] sons of Merari by their families: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites by their fathers’ households.

Of Gershon were the families of the Libnites and of the Shimeites. These are the families of the Gershonites.

Of Kohath were the families of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites.

Now their responsibilities involved the ark, the table [on which the bread of the Presence was placed], the lampstand, the altars, the utensils of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the curtain, and all the service concerning them.

Of Merari were the families of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.

When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all its furniture, as the camp sets out, after all that [is done, but not before], the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them [using the poles], so that they do not touch the holy things, and die. These are the things in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

These were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all who did service in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the Lord through Moses.

These were numbered men of the families of the sons of Gershon, everyone who served in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), whom Moses and Aaron numbered just as the Lord had commanded.

These are the men who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered in accordance with the commandment of the Lord through Moses.

‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll and shall wash them off into the water of bitterness;

Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of their fathers’ households, made offerings. (These were the leaders of the tribes; they were the ones who were over the men who were numbered.)

Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, so that we may eat.’

I am not able to carry all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.

These were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;

These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua (the Lord is salvation).

Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My [miraculous] signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,

All who are native-born shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

‘But when you unintentionally fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the Lord has spoken to Moses,

Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

And he said to the congregation, “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be swept away in all their sin.”

Then Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for I do not act of my own accord.

If these men die the common death of all mankind or if what happens to everyone happens to them, then [you will know for sure that] the Lord has not sent me.

But if the Lord creates an entirely new thing, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, along with all that belongs to them, and they descend alive into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), then you will understand that these men have spurned and rejected the Lord!”

As for the censers of these people who have sinned at the cost of their lives, have the censers made into hammered sheets as a plating for the altar [of burnt offering], for they were presented before the Lord and they are sacred. They shall be a [warning] sign to the sons of Israel.”

Only the Levites shall perform the service of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that the Levites shall have no inheritance [of land] among the children of Israel.

These are the waters of Meribah (contention, strife), where the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He showed Himself holy among them.

Israel took all these cities, and settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its towns.

God came to Balaam, and said, “Who are these men with you?”

And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?”

The Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your behavior was obstinate and contrary to Me.

The donkey saw Me and turned away from Me these three times. If she had not turned away from Me, I would have certainly killed you now, and let her live.”

Then Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times.

These are the families (clans) of the Reubenites; and those who were numbered of them were 43,730.

The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord,

These are the families (clans) of the Simeonites, 22,200.

These are the families (clans) of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered, 40,500.

These are the families (clans) of Judah according to those who were numbered, 76,500.

These are the families (clans) of Issachar according to those who were numbered, 64,300.

These are the families (clans) of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered, 60,500.

These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;

These are the families (clans) of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were 52,700.

These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.

And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.

These are the families (clans) of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered, 32,500. These are the descendants of Joseph according to their families (clans).

These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families (clans); and those who were numbered, 45,600.

These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families.