A wind sent by the Lord came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped them at the camp all around, three feet off the ground, about a day’s journey in every direction.

While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord’s anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague.

So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved the meat.

Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.

Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out.

He said:

“Listen to what I say:
If there is a prophet among you from the Lord,
I make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak with him in a dream.

Not so with My servant Moses;
he is faithful in all My household.

I speak with him directly,
openly, and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.

So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”

The Lord’s anger burned against them, and He left.

As the cloud moved away from the tent, Miriam’s skin suddenly became diseased, as white as snow. When Aaron turned toward her, he saw that she was diseased

and said to Moses, “My lord, please don’t hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.

Please don’t let her be like a dead baby whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”

So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought back in.

Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.

See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.

So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath.

However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there.

The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”

So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

“So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as You have spoken:

Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory,

will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have despised Me will see it.

Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”

Tell them: As surely as I live,” this is the Lord’s declaration, “I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.

So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land—

They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place the Lord promised, for we were wrong.”

But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the Lord’s command? It won’t succeed.

But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the Lord’s covenant and Moses did not leave the camp.

and if it was done unintentionally without the community’s awareness, the entire community is to prepare one young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering.

The priest must then make atonement for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven, for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, one made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord for their unintentional sin.

He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the Lord’s word and broken His command; his guilt remains on him.”

So the entire community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes.

They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to Himself, to perform the work at the Lord’s tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

So Moses told Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you, they, and Aaron.

“Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”

So they got away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance of their tents with their wives, children, and infants.

But if the Lord brings about something unprecedented, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them along with all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have despised the Lord.”

The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all Korah’s people, and all their possessions.

So Eleazar the priest took the bronze firepans that those who were burned had presented, and they were hammered into plating for the altar,

The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!”

When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared.

“Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell facedown.

So Aaron took his firepan as Moses had ordered, ran into the middle of the assembly, and saw that the plague had begun among the people. After he added incense, he made atonement for the people.

“Speak to the Israelites and take one staff from them for each ancestral house, 12 staffs from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff.

Write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff, because there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral house.

So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each of the leaders of their ancestral houses, 12 staffs in all. Aaron’s staff was among them.

The next day Moses entered the tent of the testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted, formed buds, blossomed, and produced almonds!

Moses then brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They saw them, and each man took his own staff.

The Lord told Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the testimony to be kept as a sign for the rebels, so that you may put an end to their complaints before Me, or else they will die.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

Anyone who comes near the Lord’s tabernacle will die. Will we all perish?”

But also bring your relatives with you from the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, so they may join you and assist you and your sons in front of the tent of the testimony.

“You are to guard the sanctuary and the altar so that wrath may not fall on the Israelites again.

You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites’ holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

“A man who is clean is to gather up the cow’s ashes and deposit them outside the camp in a ceremonially clean place. The ashes must be kept by the Israelite community for preparing the water to remove impurity; it is a sin offering.

Then the one who gathers up the cow’s ashes must wash his clothes, and he will remain unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner who resides among them.

There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron.

Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here?

Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates, and there is no water to drink!”

So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence just as He had commanded him.

Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Please let us travel through your land. We won’t travel through any field or vineyard, or drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway; we won’t turn to the right or the left until we have traveled through your territory.’”

Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will be gathered to his people and die there.”

So Moses did as the Lord commanded, and they climbed Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community.

After Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

When the whole community saw that Aaron had passed away, the entire house of Israel mourned for him 30 days.

The Lord listened to Israel’s request, the Canaanites were defeated, and Israel completely destroyed them and their cities. So they named the place Hormah.

Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey.

Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died.

The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede with the Lord so that He will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people.

So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.

Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Lord’s Wars:

Waheb in Suphah
and the ravines of the Arnon,

From there they went to Beer, the well the Lord told Moses about, “Gather the people so I may give them water.”

Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:

“Let us travel through your land. We won’t go into the fields or vineyards. We won’t drink any well water. We will travel the King’s Highway until we have traveled through your territory.”

Therefore the poets say:

Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;
let the city of Sihon be restored.

For fire came out of Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon.
It consumed Ar of Moab,
the lords of Arnon’s heights.

So Israel lived in the Amorites’ land.

So they struck him, his sons, and his whole army until no one was left, and they took possession of his land.

Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.”

Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time,

The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him.

He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.

So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your land, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

for I will greatly honor you and do whatever you ask me. So please come and put a curse on these people for me!’”

Please stay here overnight as the others did, so that I may find out what else the Lord has to tell me.”

When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in His hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path.

The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again.

When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.

Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in His hand. Balaam knelt and bowed with his face to the ground.

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

Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

Balaam said to him, “Look, I have come to you, but can I say anything I want? I must speak only the message God puts in my mouth.”

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

In the morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him to Bamoth-baal. From there he saw the outskirts of the people’s camp.