Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east, in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death.

As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,

Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

men from 30 years old to 50 years old—everyone who is qualified to do work at the tent of meeting.

Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting.

Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting.

men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.

those from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting.

from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it.

“Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.

and if a feeling of jealousy comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself—

“This is the ritual of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his consecration, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes in keeping with the ritual for his consecration.”

the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestral houses, presented an offering. They were the tribal leaders who supervised the registration.

The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab from the tribe of Judah.

For they have been exclusively assigned to Me from the Israelites. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, every Israelite firstborn.

But there were some men who were unclean because of a human corpse, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. These men came before Moses and Aaron the same day

“But the man who is ceremonially clean, is not on a journey, and yet fails to observe the Passover is to be cut off from his people, because he did not present the Lord’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

“When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who is attacking you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God and be delivered from your enemies.

Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say:

Arise, Lord!
Let Your enemies be scattered,
and those who hate You flee from Your presence.

Contemptible people among them had a strong craving for other food. The Israelites cried again and said, “Who will feed us meat?

Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

“Tell the people: Purify yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: ‘Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat.

but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”

The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail—the one who took the least gathered 50 bushels—and they spread them out all around the camp.

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

“Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.”

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

But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!”

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes

none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me,

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

Your corpses will fall in this wilderness—all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you 20 years old or more—because you have complained about Me.

I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it.

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—

those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the Lord.

Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.

Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah.

The same law and the same ordinance will apply to both you and the foreigner who resides with you.”

The entire Israelite community and the foreigner who resides among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.

The priest must then make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven.

You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you.

“But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or foreign resident, blasphemes the Lord. That person is to be cut off from his people.

Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community.

I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.”

250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses.

Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to Him, who is set apart, and the one He will let come near Him. He will let the one He chooses come near Him.

place fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord. Then the man the Lord chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far!”

He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.

Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the Lord! As for Aaron, who is he that you should complain about him?”

At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too!”

Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.

As for the firepans of those who sinned at the cost of their own lives, make them into hammered sheets as plating for the altar, for they presented them before the Lord, and the firepans are holy. They will be a sign to the Israelites.”

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

But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who died because of the Korah incident.

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

But you and your sons will carry out your priestly responsibilities for everything concerning the altar and for what is inside the veil, and you will do that work. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but an unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

The one who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he will remain unclean until evening.

“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.

“The person who touches any human corpse will be unclean for seven days.

Anyone who touches a body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person will be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean because the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.

“This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who enters the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days,

Anyone in the open field who touches a person who has been killed by the sword or has died, or who even touches a human bone, or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

A person who is clean is to take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, a corpse, or a person who had been killed.

“The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening.

But a person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.

This is a permanent statute for them. The person who sprinkles the water for impurity is to wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening.

Anything the unclean person touches will become unclean, and anyone who touches it will be unclean until evening.”

When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming on the Atharim road, he fought against Israel and captured some prisoners.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.”

Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken control of all his land as far as the Arnon.

After Moses sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”

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

Balak sent officials again who were more numerous and higher in rank than the others.

Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and sent for Balaam and the officials who were with him.

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.

Who has counted the dust of Jacob
or numbered the dust clouds of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright;
let the end of my life be like theirs.

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

God is not a man who lies,
or a son of man who changes His mind.
Does He speak and not act,
or promise and not fulfill?

the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:

He crouches, he lies down like a lion
or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
Those who bless you will be blessed,
and those who curse you will be cursed.

the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God
and has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:

One who comes from Jacob will rule;
he will destroy the city’s survivors.

Once more he proclaimed his poem:

Ah, who can live when God does this?

So Moses told Israel’s judges, “Kill each of the men who aligned themselves with Baal of Peor.”

but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

The name of the slain Israelite man, who was struck dead with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite ancestral house.

For they attacked you with the treachery that they used against you in the Peor incident. They did the same in the case involving their sister Cozbi, daughter of the Midianite leader who was killed the day the plague came at Peor.”

“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral houses of those 20 years old or more who can serve in Israel’s army.”

“Take a census of those 20 years old or more, as the Lord had commanded Moses and the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt.”

The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram.
(It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the community, who fought against Moses and Aaron; they and Korah’s followers fought against the Lord.

Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one. Each is to be given its inheritance according to those who were registered in it.

But among them there was not one of those who had been registered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they registered the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai.

“Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the Lord. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons.

who will go out before them and come back in before them, and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”

The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.