From Gershon came the family of the Libnites and the family of the Shimeites; these were the families of the Gershonites.

From Kohath came the family of the Amramites, the family of the Izharites, the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites; these were the families of the Kohathites.

From Merari came the family of the Mahlites and the family of the Mushites; these were the families of Merari.

When it is time for the camp to journey, Aaron and his sons must come and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is ready to journey, then the Kohathites will come to carry them; but they must not touch any holy thing, or they will die. These are the responsibilities of the Kohathites with the tent of meeting.

and if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is defiled; or if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is not defiled --

or when jealous feelings come over a man and he becomes suspicious of his wife; then he must have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all this law upon her.

I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the work for the Israelites in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, so there will be no plague among the Israelites when the Israelites come near the sanctuary."

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt:

It happened that some men who were ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man could not keep the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.

When they blow them both, all the community must come to you to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

"But if they blow with one trumpet, then the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel, must come to you.

Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are journeying to the place about which the Lord said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things for Israel."

And if you come with us, it is certain that whatever good things the Lord will favor us with, we will share with you as well."

And when it came to rest he would say, "Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel!"

And when the dew came down on the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.)

Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take part of the spirit that is on you, and will put it on them, and they will bear some of the burden of the people with you, so that you do not bear it all by yourself.

but a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick, because you have despised the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we ever come out of Egypt?"'"

And the Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you will see whether my word to you will come true or not!"

And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to them, and he took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but did not do so again.

The Lord spoke immediately to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: "The three of you come to the tent of meeting." So the three of them went.

And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

When they went up through the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of Anak, were living. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff between two men, as well as some of the pomegranates and the figs.

They came back to Moses and Aaron and to the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole community and showed the fruit of the land.

We even saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim), and we seemed liked grasshoppers both to ourselves and to them."

Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up.

Moreover, you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, nor given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can blind these men? We will not come up."

So they got away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stationed themselves in the entrances of their tents with their wives, their children, and their toddlers.

They must be responsible to care for you and to care for the entire tabernacle. However, they must not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die.

Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and afterward he may come into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.

But Edom said to him, "You will not pass through me, or I will come out against you with the sword."

But he said, "You may not pass through." Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful force.

So the entire company of Israelites traveled from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

And Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that he would take away the snakes from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

But Sihon did not permit Israel to pass through his border; he gathered all his forces together and went out against Israel into the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.

That is why those who speak in proverbs say, "Come to Heshbon, let it be built. Let the city of Sihon be established!

And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, "Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed."

So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak.

And God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?"

"Look, a nation has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out."

So the princes of Moab departed and went back to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak son of Zippor: 'Please do not let anything hinder you from coming to me.

For I will honor you greatly, and whatever you tell me I will do. So come, put a curse on this nation for me.'"

God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do."

The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing is perverse before me.

Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send again and again to you to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?"

Balaam said to Balak, "Look, I have come to you. Now, am I able to speak just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth."

So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went to a deserted height.

Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, "Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, 'Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'

Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there."

When Balaam came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, "What has the Lord spoken?"

Balak said to Balaam, "Come, please; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there."

When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

So now, go back where you came from! I said that I would greatly honor you; but now the Lord has stood in the way of your honor."

And now, I am about to go back to my own people. Come now, and I will advise you as to what this people will do to your people in the future."

Ships will come from the coast of Kittim, and will afflict Asshur, and will afflict Eber, and he will also perish forever."

Just then one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of the whole community of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh, the son Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd."

And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim. At his command they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community."

But Moses was furious with the officers of the army, the commanders over thousands and commanders over hundreds, who had come from service in the war.

the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community. They said,

Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

Then they came very close to him and said, "We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families,

For we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan."

They traveled from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there are twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.

Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month.