These were those numbered from the families of the Gershonites, everyone who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.

Those numbered from the families of the Merarites, by their families, by their clans,

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered the company for the work in the tent of meeting --

These are those numbered from the families of the Merarites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord by the authority of Moses.

from thirty years old and upward to fifty years old, everyone who entered to do the work of service and the work of carrying relating to the tent of meeting --

"Command the Israelites to expel from the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.

Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, "If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband's authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

The priest will take the grain offering of suspicion from the woman's hand, wave the grain offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar.

Then the man will be free from iniquity, but that woman will bear the consequences of her iniquity.'"

he must separate himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.

All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

"'Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire where the peace offering is burning.

And the priest must take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one cake made without yeast from the basket, and one wafer made without yeast, and put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head;

"Receive these gifts from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tent of meeting; and you must give them to the Levites, to every man as his service requires."

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

This was the dedication for the altar from the leaders of Israel, when it was anointed: twelve silver platters, twelve silver sprinkling bowls, and twelve gold pans.

Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. Thus he spoke to him.

This is how the lampstand was made: It was beaten work in gold; from its shaft to its flowers it was beaten work. According to the pattern which the Lord had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

"Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them.

and Aaron is to offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, that they may do the work of the Lord.

And so you are to separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

For they are entirely given to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn sons of all the Israelites.

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."

and at the age of fifty years they must retire from performing the work and may no longer work.

And those men said to him, "We are ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man; why are we kept back from offering the Lord's offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?"

But the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. Because he did not bring the Lord's offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin.

On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle -- the tent of the testimony -- and from evening until morning there was a fiery appearance over the tabernacle.

Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp.

And when the cloud remained only from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled.

"Make two trumpets of silver; you are to make them from a single hammered piece. You will use them for assembling the community and for directing the traveling of the camps.

If you go to war in your land against an adversary who opposes you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony.

So the Israelites set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.

So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days' journey, to find a resting place for them.

And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they traveled from the camp.

From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, 'Give us meat, that we may eat!'

Now a wind went out from the Lord and brought quail from the sea, and let them fall near the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and about a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet high on the surface of the ground.

The people traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah to Hazeroth, and they stayed at Hazeroth.

When the cloud departed from above the tent, Miriam became leprous as snow. Then Aaron looked at Miriam, and she was leprous!

The Lord said to Moses, "If her father had only spit in her face, would she not have been disgraced for seven days? Shut her out from the camp seven days, and afterward she can be brought back in again."

After that the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

"Send out men to investigate the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. You are to send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a leader among them."

So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

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

from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

from the tribe of Joseph, namely, the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi son of Susi;

from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vopshi;

from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

So they went up and investigated the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, at the entrance of Hamath.

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.

That place was called the Eshcol Valley, because of the cluster of grapes that the Israelites cut from there.

They returned from investigating the land after forty days.

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."

Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection has turned aside from them, but the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!"

Moses said to the Lord, "When the Egyptians hear it -- for you brought up this people by your power from among them --

Please forgive the iniquity of this people according to your great loyal love, just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now."

Your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness -- all those of you who were numbered, according to your full number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me.

For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned away from the Lord, the Lord will not be with you."

But they dared to go up to the crest of the hill, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

and you make an offering by fire to the Lord from the herd or from the flock (whether a burnt offering or a sacrifice for discharging a vow or as a freewill offering or in your solemn feasts) to create a pleasing aroma to the Lord,

all that the Lord has commanded you by the authority of Moses, from the day that the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your future generations --

"'But the person who acts defiantly, whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people.

and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders of the community, chosen from the assembly, famous men.

Does it seem too small a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel to bring you near to himself, to perform the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the community to minister to them?

Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord, "Have no respect for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!"

"Separate yourselves from among this community, that I may consume them in an instant."

"Tell the community: 'Get away from around the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'"

And he said to the community, "Move away from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything they have, lest you be destroyed because of all their sins."

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 and all that they had went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed over them. So they perished from among the community.

Then a fire went out from the Lord and devoured the 250 men who offered incense.

"Get away from this community, so that I can consume them in an instant!" But they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground.

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take the censer, put burning coals from the altar in it, place incense on it, and go quickly into the assembly and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord -- the plague has begun!"

"Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe, one from every tribal leader, twelve staffs; you must write each man's name on his staff.

So Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his staff.

I myself have chosen your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties of the tent of meeting.

Of all the most holy offerings reserved from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons.

"You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, 'When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth of the tithe.

And your raised offering will be credited to you as though it were grain from the threshing floor or as new wine from the winepress.

Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the Lord's raised offering from it to Aaron the priest.

From all your gifts you must offer up every raised offering due the Lord, from all the best of it, and the holiest part of it.'

Anyone who touches the corpse of any dead person and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that person must be cut off from Israel, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.

"'For a ceremonially unclean person you must take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin and pour fresh running water over them in a vessel.

But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person must be cut off from among the community, because he has polluted the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.

Why have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!"

So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting. They then threw themselves down with their faces to the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him.

Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "Thus says your brother Israel: 'You know all the hardships we have experienced,

Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from any well. We will go by the King's Highway; we will not turn to the right or the left until we have passed through your region.'"

So Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.

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 they traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom, but the people became impatient along the way.