Then he told the two of them: "Pay attention to what I have to say! When there is a prophet among you, won't I, the LORD, reveal myself to him in a vision? Won't I speak with him in a dream?

But that's not how it is with my servant Moses, since he has been entrusted with my entire household!

but when the cloud ascended from the tent, Miriam had become leprous, as white as snow! Aaron turned toward Miriam, and she had leprosy!

Aaron begged Moses, "I pray my lord, please don't hold this sin against us, since we've acted foolishlyand sinned in doing so.

Please don't let her be like one of the living dead, who is born with a congenital skin disease."

But the LORD told Moses, "If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn't she be humiliated? She is to be placed in isolation for seven days. After that, she may be brought in."

See what the land is like. Observe whether the people who live there are strong or weak, or whether they're few or numerous.

Look to see whether the land where they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are merely tents or if they're fortified.

As it was, that time of year was the season for the first fruits of the grape harvest. So they went to explore the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, and as far as the outskirts of Hamath.

"We arrived at the place where you've sent us," they reported, "and it certainly does flow with milk and honey. Furthermore, this is its fruit,

"We can't attack those people," the men who were with him said, "because they're too strong compared to us."

So they put out this false report to the Israelis about the land that they had explored: "The land that we've explored is one that devours its inhabitants. All the people whom we observed were giants.

We also saw the Nephilim, the descendants of Anak. Compared to the Nephilim, as we see things, we're like grasshoppers, and that's their opinion of us!"

What's the point in the LORD bringing us to this land? To die by the sword so our wives and children would become war victims? Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?"

and attempted to reason with the entire congregation of Israel. They told them, "The land that we went through and explored is very, very good.

If the LORD is pleased with us, he'll bring us into this land and give it to us. It flows with milk and honey.

However, don't rebel against the LORD or be afraid of the people who live in the land, because we'll gobble them right up. Their defenses will collapse, because the LORD is with us. You are not to be afraid of them."

"Now, let the power of the LORD be magnified, just as you promised when you said,

"The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he won't acquit the guilty. He recalls the iniquity of fathers to the third and fourth generation.'

But just as I live, and just as the whole earth will be filled with the LORD's glory,

Now as to my servant Caleb, because a different spirit is within him and he has remained true to me, I'm going to bring him into the land that he explored, and his descendants are to inherit it.

So tell them that as long as I live consider this to be an oracle from the LORD as certainly as you've spoken right into my ears, that's how I'm going to treat you.

"Now as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness

Just as you explored the land for 40 days, you'll bear the consequences of your iniquities for 40 years one year for each day as you experience my hostility.

Don't go up, since you know that the LORD is no longer with you. You'll be attacked right in front of your own enemies.

The offeror is to bring the oblation to the LORD, containing one tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with one fourth of a hin of olive oil.

Now as for your drink offering, offer one third of a hin of wine as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

"When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or for peace offerings to the LORD,

then the bullock is to be presented accompanied by a meal offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil.

"As for drink offerings, offer half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire is a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Every native born person is to do these things, bringing an offering made by fire as a pleasing aroma to the LORD."

"Now, if a resident alien lives with you, or whoever else is with you throughout your generations, let him make an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. Just as you do, so is he to do.

There is to be a single standard for your community, one statute for you and the resident alien who lives with you, a long lasting statute throughout your generations. Just as you do, so is the resident alien to do in the presence of the LORD.

There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the resident alien who lives with you."

You are to offer a cake made from the first of your bread dough as a raised offering to the LORD. Offer it as a raised offering right off your threshing floor.

When anything is done without the knowledge of the congregation, the entire community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, along with its meal and drink offerings offered according to procedure, and one male goat for a sin offering.

Then the priest is to make atonement for the entire community of the Israelis, and they will be forgiven for inadvertent sins. They are to bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, as well as their sin offering, into the LORD's presence on account of their error.

"Now when one person sins inadvertently, then he is to bring a one year old female goat for a sin offering.

Then, in the LORD's presence, the priest is to make atonement for the person who sinned inadvertently, that is, to make atonement on his behalf so he may be forgiven.

"But if some person acts with a high hand, whether a native-born or a resident alien, he blasphemes God, and that person is to be eliminated from among his people.

Because he has despised the law of the LORD and has broken his commands, that person is certainly to be eliminated. His iniquity will remain on him."

As it was when the Israelis were in the wilderness, they found a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

Then the LORD told Moses, "The man is certainly to die. The entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp."

So the whole community brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones so that he died, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and told them, "You have appropriated too much for yourselves from the entire congregation, since all of them are holy, and the LORD is among them, too. Why do you exalt yourselves over the LORD's assembly?"

Then he addressed Korah and his entire company, "In the morning, may the LORD reveal who belongs to him and who is holy. May he cause that person to approach him. May he cause to approach him the one whom he has chosen.

Is it such an insignificant thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelis to draw you to himself, appointing you to do the work of the tent of the LORD and to stand before the community to minister to them?

Therefore you and your group have conspired against the LORD and Aaron. What is it that causes you to complain against him?"

Is it such an insignificant thing that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you're trying to make yourself be a prince and rule over us, aren't you?

You still haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you really think that you can make these men look the other way? We won't go up."

Each man is to take a censer, put incense on it, and bring it into the LORD's presence, each man with his censer, for a total of 250 censers. You and Aaron are each to bring his own censer."

Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. Then Moses said, "This is how you'll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works they're not coming merely from me.

Just as he finished saying all these things, the ground under them split open.

Then all of the Israelis who were around them ran away when they heard them crying, ""so the ground won't swallow us up, too."

As for the censers of those rebels who died, fasten them into beaten plates to line the altar. Since they brought them into the LORD's presence, they're holy. They are to become a reminder to the Israelis."

to serve as a memorial to the Israelis, a reminder that no unauthorized person, who isn't a descendant of Aaron, is to attempt to burn incense in the LORD'S presence, so that he may not become like Korah and his group, just as the LORD had spoken by the authority of Moses.

So Aaron took the censer, just as Moses had spoken, and ran out to the center of the assembly, where a plague had begun among the people. He set the incense on fire and atoned for the people.

"Tell the Israelis to take a rod one from each ancestral house, that is, one from every leader, for a total of twelve rods. Write each tribal name on his rod.

You are also to write Aaron's name on the tribe of Levi, since there is to be one rod for every leader of their ancestral tribes.

Then the Israelis told Moses, "We're sure to die! We're all going to perish all of us!

Anyone who comes near or approaches the LORD's tent is to die. Are all of us going to die?"

They are to join you to maintain services related to the Tent of Meeting, for all the responsibilities involved with the tent. But no unauthorized person is to approach you.

Notice that I've taken your brothers, the descendants of Levi, from among the Israelis, giving them to you as a gift from the LORD to perform the service of the Tent of Meeting.

Now you and your sons with you are to maintain your priestly duties and all matters that concern the altar and what is housed within the veil. You are to perform these services. I'm giving you the priesthood as a gift of service, but any unauthorized person who approaches is to be put to death."

This is what is to belong to you from consecrated offerings spared from the fire: all of their offerings, grain offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings that they render to me. They're to be considered most sacred to you and your sons.

You may eat them as consecrated gifts. Every male may eat them. They're sacred for you.

The raised offering and wave offerings presented by the Israelis are yours, too. I've given them to you, to your sons, and to your daughters as a prescribed apportionment forever. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it.

All the best oil, wine, grain, and first fruits that they give to the LORD are to belong to you. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it.

"The first ripe fruits of everything that the land produces and that they bring to the LORD are yours, too. Everyone who is clean in your household may eat it.

Every devoted thing in Israel is yours, too.

Those that can be redeemed, you are to redeem at the age of one month, based on your estimate for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, that is, for 20 gerahs.

Their meat is to belong to you, just as the breast wave offering and the right thigh is yours.

I'm giving you, your sons, and your daughters as a prescribed portion forever all the raised offerings of the consecrated things that the Israelis offer to the LORD. It's a salt covenant forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you."

As to the descendants of Levi, certainly I've given all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for their services that they perform at the Tent of Meeting.

The descendants of Levi are to perform the service of the Tent of Meeting and they are to bear their iniquity. This is to be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that they are not to receive an inheritance among the Israelis,

because I've given to the descendants of Levi the tithes that the Israelis bring to the LORD as raised offering. Therefore I told them that, unlike the Israelis, they won't receive an inheritance."

"Tell the descendants of Levi that when they receive tithes from the Israelis (the tithes that I've given you from them as an inheritance), you are to offer a tenth of it as a raised offering for the LORD.

Your raised offerings are to be accounted for you as though it were grain from threshing floors and full produce from wine vats.

out of all the most consecrated offerings that you receive, that is, all the raised offerings of the LORD, with all its best and the most holy parts of it.

Tell them that when they bring the best from it, as far as the descendants of Levi are concerned, it is to be considered like produce from the threshing floors and wine vats.

"This is the ordinance of the law that the LORD commanded that the Israelis be told: They are to bring you a spotless red heifer, without physical defect, that has never been fitted with a yoke.

They are to deliver it to Eleazar the priest, and it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

Then Eleazar the priest is to take blood from it with his finger and sprinkle the blood in front of the Tent of Meeting.

The entire heifer is to be incinerated in his presence, including its skin, its flesh, its blood, and its dung.

Then the priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material and throw it into the middle of the burning heifer.

The priest is to wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, after which he may enter the camp, but he is to remain unclean until evening.

Whoever takes part in the burning is to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and is to remain unclean until the evening.

Then someone who is unclean is to gather the ashes of the heifer and lay them outside the camp in a clean place. This is to be done for the community of Israel to use for water of purification from sin.

Whoever gathers the ashes of the heifer is to wash his clothes and is to remain unclean until the evening. This ordinance is to remain for the benefit of both the Israelis and the resident aliens who live among them."

"Whoever comes in contact with the body of a dead person is to remain unclean for seven days.

He is to purify himself on the third day and he will be clean on the seventh day. But if he can't purify himself on the third day then he can't be clean on the seventh day.

Anyone who comes in contact with a dead person (that is, with the corpse of a human being who has died), but who does not purify himself, defiles the LORD's tent. That person is to be eliminated from Israel, because the water of impurity wasn't sprinkled on him. He remains unclean and his uncleanness will remain with him.

"This is the procedure to follow when a man dies in his tent: Everyone who enters the tent and everyone in it is to remain unclean for seven days.

Every open vessel that has no covering fastened around it is to be considered unclean.

Whoever is out in an open field and touches the body of someone who was killed by a sword, or a dead body, or someone's bones, or a grave, he is to be considered unclean for seven days.

"Now as for the unclean, they are to take ashes from the burning sin offering, and pour running water on it inside a vessel.

A clean person is to take some hyssop, dip it in water, and then sprinkle it on the tent, on every vessel, and on whoever was there (that is, on whoever touched the bones, the killed person, or the dead body, including whoever dug the grave).

The clean person is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and seventh day and then he is to purify himself on the seventh day, wash his clothes, and bathe with water. He is to be considered clean at evening.

"The person who is unclean but who doesn't purify himself is to be eliminated from contact with the assembly, since he has defiled the LORD's sanctuary and the water of impurity wasn't sprinkled on him. He is to be considered unclean

as a continuing reminder to them. Whoever sprinkles the water of impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever comes in contact with the water of impurity is to remain unclean until evening.