Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as he had done each time before [superstitiously] to seek omens and signs [in the natural world], but he set his face toward the wilderness (desert).

²And Balaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel living in their tents tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came on him.

³He took up his [third] discourse (oracle) and said: "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened [at last, to see clearly the purpose and will of God],

⁴The oracle of one who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered,

⁵How fair are your tents, O Jacob, And your tabernacles, O Israel!

⁶"Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.

⁷"Water [that is, great blessings] will flow from his buckets, And his offspring will live by many waters, And his king will be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸"God brought Israel out of Egypt; Israel has strength like the wild ox; He will devour [Gentile] nations, his adversaries (enemies), And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows.

⁹"He bowed down [to rest], he lies down as a lion; And as a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you, And cursed [of God] is he who curses you."

¹⁰Then Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times.

¹¹Therefore now flee to your place! I had intended to honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor."

¹²Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me,

¹³'Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own accord. What the LORD speaks, that I will speak?'

¹⁴And now, look, I am going to my people; come, I will advise you as to what this people [Israel] will do to your people [Moab] in the days to come."

¹⁵He took up his [fourth] discourse (oracle) and said: "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, The oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

¹⁶The oracle of him who hears the words of God And knows the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered:

¹⁷"I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star shall come forth from [the descendants of] Jacob, A scepter shall rise out of [the descendants of] Israel And shall crush the forehead of Moab And destroy all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁸"Edom shall be [taken as] a possession, [Mount] Seir, Israel's enemies, also will be a possession, While Israel performs valiantly.

¹⁹"One from [the descendants of] Jacob shall have dominion And will destroy the remnant from the city."

²⁰Balaam looked at Amalek and took up his [fifth] discourse (oracle) and said: "Amalek was the first of the [neighboring] nations [to oppose the Israelites after they left Egypt], But his end shall be destruction."

²¹And Balaam looked at the Kenites and took up his [sixth] discourse (oracle) and said: "Strong is your dwelling place, And you set your nest in the cliff.

²²"Nevertheless the Kenites will be consumed. How long will Asshur (Assyria) keep you (Israel) captive?"

²³Then he took up his [seventh] discourse (oracle) and said: "Alas, who can live unless God has ordained it?

²⁴"But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And shall afflict Asshur (Assyria) and Eber; So they (the victors) also will come to destruction."

²⁵Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.

¹Israel settled and remained in Shittim, and the people began to play the prostitute with the women of Moab [by being unfaithful to God].

²For they invited the Israelites to the sacrifices of their gods, and the Israelites ate [food offered to idols] and bowed down to Moab's gods.

³So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor [in worship]. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

⁴The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people [who have committed sin with the Moabites], and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel."

⁵So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each one of you must kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor [in worship]."

⁶Then one of the Israelites came and presented to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping [over God's judgment] at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).

⁷When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the congregation and took a spear in his hand,

⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them through the body, the man of Israel and the woman. Then the plague on the Israelites stopped.

⁹Nevertheless, those [Israelites] who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

¹⁰Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹¹"Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites because he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in My jealousy.

¹²Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to Phinehas My covenant of peace.

¹³And it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous (impassioned) for [the unique honor and respect owed to] his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.'"

¹⁴Now the name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father's household among the Simeonites.

¹⁵The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's household in Midian.

¹⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁷"Provoke hostilities with the Midianites and attack them,

¹⁸for they harass you with their tricks, the tricks with which they have deceived you in the matter [of the Baal] of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because [of the Baal] of Peor."

¹Then it happened after the plague that the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,

²"Take a census of all the [males in the] congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' households, all in Israel who are able to go to war."

³So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with the people in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

⁴"A census of the people shall be taken from twenty years old and upward, just as the LORD has commanded Moses." Now the Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt were:

⁵Reuben, the firstborn of Israel (Jacob), the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

⁶of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

⁷These are the families (clans) of the Reubenites; and those who were numbered of them were 43,730.

⁸The son of Pallu: Eliab.

⁹The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were called by the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD,

¹⁰and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, so that they became a [warning] sign.

¹¹But Korah's sons did not die [because they did not participate in the rebellion].

¹²The sons of Simeon according to their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;

¹³of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.

¹⁴These are the families (clans) of the Simeonites, 22,200.

¹⁵The sons of Gad according to their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;

¹⁶of Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;

¹⁷of Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

¹⁸These are the families (clans) of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered, 40,500.

¹⁹The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan [were judged by God and] died in the land of Canaan.

²⁰The sons of Judah according to their families: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.

²¹The sons of Perez: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.

²²These are the families (clans) of Judah according to those who were numbered, 76,500.

²³The sons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites;

²⁴of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.

²⁵These are the families (clans) of Issachar according to those who were numbered, 64,300.

²⁶The sons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.

²⁷These are the families (clans) of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered, 60,500.

²⁸The sons of Joseph according to their families were Manasseh and Ephraim.

²⁹The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.

³⁰These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the family of the Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;

³¹of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;

³²of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.

³³Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters, and the names of Zelophehad's daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

³⁴These are the families (clans) of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were 52,700.

³⁵These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.

³⁶And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.

³⁷These are the families (clans) of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered, 32,500. These are the descendants of Joseph according to their families (clans).

³⁸The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites;

³⁹of Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites.

⁴⁰The sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.

⁴¹These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families (clans); and those who were numbered, 45,600.

⁴²These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families.

⁴³All the families (clans) of the Shuhamites according to those who were numbered, 64,400.

⁴⁴Of the sons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites.

⁴⁵Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.

⁴⁶And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.

⁴⁷These are the families (clans) of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered, 53,400.

⁴⁸Of the sons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;

⁴⁹of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites.

⁵⁰These are the families (clans) of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were 45,400.

⁵¹This was the [total] number of the [male] Israelites, 601,730 [twenty years old and upward who were able to go to war].

⁵²And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁵³"Among these the land shall be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names.

⁵⁴To the larger tribe you shall give the larger inheritance, and to the smaller tribe the smaller inheritance; each tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers.

⁵⁵But the land shall be divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers (tribal ancestors).

⁵⁶According to the [location selected by] lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller [groups]."

⁵⁷These are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

⁵⁸These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram.

⁵⁹The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister.

⁶⁰To Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

⁶¹But Nadab and Abihu died [in the presence of God] when they offered [in their ceremonial censers] strange [unholy, unacceptable, unauthorized] fire before the LORD.

⁶²Those numbered of the Levites were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not numbered among the sons of Israel, since no inheritance [of land] was given to them among the Israelites.

⁶³These are those numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel [for the second time] in the plains of Moab by the Jordan [River] at Jericho.

⁶⁴But among these there was not a man [left] of those numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel [for the first time] in the Wilderness of Sinai.

⁶⁵For the LORD had said of them, "They shall certainly die in the wilderness." And not a man was left of them except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

¹Then the [five] daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the tribes of Manasseh [who was] the son of Joseph, approached [with a request]. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), saying,

³"Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among those who assembled together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin [as did all those who rebelled at Kadesh], and he had no sons.

⁴Why should the name of our father be removed from his family because he had no son? Give to us a possession (land) among our father's brothers."

⁵So Moses brought their case before the LORD.

⁶Then the LORD said to Moses,

⁷"The request of the daughters of Zelophehad is justified. You shall certainly give them a possession as an inheritance among their father's brothers, and you shall transfer their father's inheritance to them.

⁸Further, you shall say to the Israelites, 'If a man dies and has no son, you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

⁹If a man has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.

¹⁰If a man has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers.

¹¹If his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it. It shall be a statute and ordinance to the Israelites, just as the LORD has commanded Moses.'"

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go up to this mountain (Nebo) [in the] Abarim [range] and look at the land I have given to the sons of Israel.

¹³When you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people [in death], just as Aaron your brother was gathered;

¹⁴because in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat me as holy [by following My instruction] before their eyes at the water." (These are the waters of Meribah in Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)

¹⁵Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying,

¹⁶" Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation

¹⁷who will go out and come in before them, and will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be as sheep without a shepherd."

¹⁸The LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

¹⁹and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole congregation, and give him a commission in their sight.

²⁰You shall put some of your authority and honor on him, so that all the congregation of the Israelites will obey him.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment (decision) of the Urim. At Joshua's command the people shall go out and at his command they shall come in, he and all the congregation of Israel with him."

²²Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation,

²³and Moses laid his hands on Joshua and commissioned him, just as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Command the Israelites and say to them, 'You shall be careful to present at its appointed time [during the year] My offering, My food for My offerings by fire as a sweet and soothing aroma to Me.'

³You shall say to the people, 'This is the offering by fire which you shall present to the LORD every day: two male lambs one year old without blemish as a continual burnt offering.

⁴You shall offer one lamb in the morning and you shall offer the other lamb at twilight,

⁵also a tenth of an ephah of finely-milled flour as a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of pressed oil.

⁶It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained on Mount Sinai as a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

⁷Its drink offering shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a strong drink offering to the LORD.

⁸The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD.

⁹'Then on the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without blemish, and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering.

¹⁰This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹'Then at the beginning of [each of] your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish;

¹²and three-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, for the one ram;

¹³and a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

¹⁴Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, and a third of a hin for a ram, and a fourth of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year.

¹⁵And one male goat as a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

¹⁶'The Lord's Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month [of each year].

¹⁷There shall be a feast on the fifteenth day of this month; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.

¹⁸On the first day there shall be a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work that day.

¹⁹But you shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old, without blemish.

²⁰For their grain offering you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil; three-tenths [of an ephah] for the bull, and two-tenths for the ram;

²¹you shall offer a tenth [of an ephah] for each of the seven male lambs;

²²and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

²³You shall present these in addition to the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering.

²⁴In this way you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

²⁵On the seventh day you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁶'Also on the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁷You shall present the burnt offering as a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old;

²⁸and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; three-tenths [of an ephah] for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram,

²⁹a tenth for each of the seven male lambs,

³⁰and one male goat to make atonement for you.

³¹In addition to the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without blemish.

¹'On the first day of the seventh month, you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work. It will be for you a day of blowing the trumpets (the shophar, ram's horn).

²You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without blemish;

³also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths [of an ephah] for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,

⁴and one-tenth [of an ephah] for each of the seven lambs,

⁵and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.

⁶These are in addition to the burnt offering of the New Moon and its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to the ordinance for them, as a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the LORD.

⁷'Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly [for the Day of Atonement]; and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work.

⁸You shall present a burnt offering to the LORD as a sweet and soothing aroma: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old, which are without blemish;

⁹and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths [of an ephah] for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram,

¹⁰a tenth [of an ephah] for each of the seven lambs,

¹¹one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

¹²'Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy [summoned] assembly; you shall do no laborious work, and you shall observe a Feast [of Booths] to the LORD for seven days.

¹³You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD: thirteen bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old, which are without blemish;

¹⁴and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths [of an ephah] for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams,

¹⁵and a tenth [of an ephah] for each of the fourteen lambs;

¹⁶also one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷'Then on the second day [of the Feast of Booths]: twelve bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish,

¹⁸with their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance,

¹⁹also one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰'Then on the third day [of the Feast of Booths]: eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish,

²¹with their grain offering and drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance,

²²and one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²³'Then on the fourth day [of the Feast of Booths]: ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

²⁴their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance,

²⁵and one male goat as a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²⁶'Then on the fifth day [of the Feast of Booths]: nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish,

²⁷and their grain offering and drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance;

²⁸and one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, and its grain offering, and its drink offering.

²⁹'Then on the sixth day [of the Feast of Booths]: eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish;

³⁰and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance,

³¹and one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.

³²'Then on the seventh day [of the Feast of Booths]: seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs one year old without blemish,

³³and their grain offering and drink offerings for the bulls, the rams, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance;

³⁴and one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, and its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁵'On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly [to mark the end of the feast]; you shall do no laborious work.

³⁶You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without blemish;

³⁷their grain offering and drink offerings for the bull, the ram, and the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance,

³⁸and one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the continual burnt offering, and its grain offering, and its drink offering.

³⁹'You shall present these to the LORD at your appointed times, in addition the offerings you have vowed and your freewill offerings, as your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and as your peace offerings.'"

⁴⁰So Moses spoke to the Israelites in accordance with everything that the LORD had commanded him.

¹Then Moses spoke to the leaders of the tribes of the Israelites, saying, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded:

²If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to bind himself with a pledge [of abstinence], he shall not break (violate, profane) his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

³"Also if a woman makes a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge [of abstinence], while living in her father's house in her youth,

⁴and her father hears her vow and her pledge by which she has bound herself, and he offers no objection, then all her vows shall stand and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.

⁵But if her father disapproves of her [making her vow] on the day that he hears about it, none of her vows or her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her because her father has disapproved of her [making the vow].

⁶"But if she marries while under her vows or if she has bound herself by a rash statement,

⁷and her husband hears of it and says nothing about it on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.

⁸But if her husband disapproves of her [making her vow or pledge] on the day that he hears of it, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she bound herself; and the LORD will forgive her.

⁹"But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

¹⁰However, if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath,

¹¹and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not disapprove of her [making the vow], then all her vows and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.

¹²But if her husband absolutely annuls them on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeds from her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge shall not stand. Her husband has annulled them, and the LORD will forgive her.

¹³"Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it.

¹⁴But if her husband says nothing to her [concerning the matter] from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her pledges which are on her. He has confirmed them because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them.

¹⁵But if he indeed nullifies them after he hears of them, then he shall be responsible for and bear her guilt [for breaking her promise]."

¹⁶These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter while she is a youth in her father's house.

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Take vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people [in death]."

³Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for war, so that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel to participate in idolatry].

⁴A thousand [fighting men] from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war."

⁵So out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe were selected, twelve thousand armed for war.

⁶Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to war with them, and the sacred vessels [of the sanctuary] and the trumpets to blow the alarm in his hand.

⁷They made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.

⁸They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur [the father of Cozbi] and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; also Balaam the son of Beor they killed with the sword.

⁹The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their children; and all their cattle, all their livestock, and all their property they took as spoil [of war].

¹⁰They burned all the cities where they lived, and all their encampments with fire.

¹¹They took all the plunder and all the spoils of war, both people and livestock.

¹²Then they brought the captives, the spoils, and the plunder to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the Israelites at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan [River] across from Jericho.

¹³Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp.

¹⁴But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, who served in the war.

¹⁵And Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?

¹⁶Look, these [are the women who] caused the Israelites, by the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so a plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

¹⁷Now therefore, kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who is not a virgin.

¹⁸But all the young girls who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves [to marry].

¹⁹Camp outside the camp for seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any dead body, purify yourselves and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day.

²⁰You shall purify every garment and every article made of leather and all the things made of goats' hair, and every article made of wood."

²¹Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, "This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:

²²only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

²³everything that can stand fire, you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water of purification [to remove its impurity]; and all that cannot stand fire [such as fabrics] you shall pass through water.

²⁴And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp."

²⁵Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁶"You and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the fathers' households of the congregation are to take a count of the spoil of war that was captured, both people and livestock.

²⁷Divide the spoil into two [equal] parts between those who were involved in the war, that is, those who went out to battle and all [the rest of] the congregation.

²⁸Levy a tax for the LORD from the warriors who went to battle, one in five hundred of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, and the flocks.

²⁹Take this tribute from the warriors' half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD.

³⁰From the Israelites' half [of the spoil] you shall take one out of every fifty of the persons, the oxen, the donkeys, the flocks, and of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who are in charge of the tabernacle of the LORD."

³¹Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³²The plunder that remained from the spoil of war which the warriors had taken, was 675,000 sheep,

³³and 72,000 cattle,

³⁴and 61,000 donkeys,

³⁵and 32,000 persons in all, of the [Midianite] women who were virgins.

³⁶The half share, the portion of those who went to war, was 337,500 sheep in number,

³⁷and the Lord's levy (tax) of the sheep was 675;

³⁸the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord's levy was 72;

³⁹the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord's levy was 61;

⁴⁰the persons were 16,000, from whom the Lord's levy was 32 persons.

⁴¹Moses gave the levy which was the Lord's offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴²As for the Israelites' half, which Moses separated from that of the warriors—

⁴³now the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep,

⁴⁴and 36,000 cattle,

⁴⁵and 30,500 donkeys,

⁴⁶and 16,000 people—

⁴⁷and from the Israelites' half, Moses took one out of every fifty, both of persons and animals, and gave them to the Levites, who were in charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

⁴⁸Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, approached Moses,

⁴⁹and they said to him, "Your servants have counted the warriors under our command, and not one man of us is missing.

⁵⁰So we have brought as an offering to the LORD what each man obtained—articles of gold, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD."

⁵¹Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all the handmade articles.

⁵²All the gold of the offering which they presented to the LORD from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds was 16,750 shekels.

⁵³For the men of war had taken plunder, every man for himself.

⁵⁴So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD.

¹Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had very large herds of cattle, and they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead [on the east side of the Jordan River], and indeed, the place was suitable for raising livestock.

²So the sons of Gad and of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,

³"[The country around] Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,

⁴the land which the LORD conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land [suitable] for livestock, and your servants have [very large herds of] livestock."

⁵They said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan [River]."

⁶But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?

⁷Now why are you discouraging the hearts of the Israelites from crossing over into the land which the LORD has given them?

⁸This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land!

⁹For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the hearts of the Israelites so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

¹⁰And the Lord's anger was kindled on that day and He swore an oath, saying,

¹¹'None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not followed Me completely,

¹²except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the LORD completely.'

¹³So the Lord's anger was kindled against the sons of Israel (Jacob) and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD was destroyed.

¹⁴Now look, you [the tribes of Reuben and Gad] have risen up in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel.

¹⁵For if you turn back from following Him [completely], He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people."

¹⁶But the people of Reuben and Gad approached Moses and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our flocks and [walled] cities for our children,

¹⁷but we will be armed and ready to go to war before the [other tribes of the] Israelites, until we have brought them to their place, while our children live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁸We will not return to our homes until every one of the [other] sons of Israel has taken possession of his inheritance.

¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the west side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan [River] toward the east."

²⁰Moses replied, "If you will do as you say, if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for war,

²¹and every armed man of yours will cross the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies before Him,

²²and the land [west of the Jordan] is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be blameless [in this matter] before the LORD and before Israel, and this land [east of the Jordan] shall be yours as a possession before the LORD.

²³But if you do not do this, behold, you will have sinned against the LORD; and be sure that your sin will find you out.

²⁴Build yourselves cities for your children, and folds for your sheep, and do that of which you have spoken."

²⁵Then the descendants of Gad and of Reuben said to Moses, "Your servants will do just as my lord commands.

²⁶Our children, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall be there in the cities of Gilead.

²⁷But your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to the battle, just as my lord says."

²⁸So Moses gave the command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the leaders of the fathers' households of the tribes of the Israelites.

²⁹Moses said to them, "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead [east of the Jordan River] as a possession;

³⁰but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan [and surrender their right to their land east of the Jordan River]."

³¹The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, "As the LORD has said to your servants, so will we do.

³²We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, so that the possession of our inheritance on [the east] side of the Jordan may be ours."

³³So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities and territories, the cities of the surrounding land.

³⁴The sons of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

³⁵Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

³⁶Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified (walled) cities, and sheepfolds for sheep.

³⁷The sons of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

³⁸Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names being changed) and Sibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.

³⁹The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and drove out the Amorites who were in it.

⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to [the tribe of] Machir the son of Manasseh, and they settled in it.

⁴¹[The sons of] Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns (tent villages) and called them Havvoth-jair.

⁴²Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

¹These are the stages of the journeys of the Israelites, by which they came out of the land of Egypt by their [tribal] armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

²Moses recorded their points of departure, as the LORD commanded, stage by stage; and these are their journeys according to their points of departure:

³They set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites moved out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,

⁴while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the LORD had struck down among them. Upon their gods the LORD also executed judgments.

⁵Then the Israelites moved out from Rameses [where they had all joined together], and camped in Succoth.

⁶They moved out from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

⁷They moved out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.

⁸They moved out from before Pi-hahiroth and passed through the midst of the [Red] Sea into the wilderness; and they went a three days' journey in the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.

⁹They moved out from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

¹⁰They moved out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds).

¹¹They moved out from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.

¹²They moved out from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³They moved out from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴They moved out from Alush and camped at Rephidim; now it was there that the people had no water to drink.

¹⁵They moved out from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai [where they remained for about a year].

¹⁶They moved out from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷They moved out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸They moved out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah [near Kadesh, the place from which the twelve spies were sent to spy out the land of Canaan].

¹⁹They moved out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

²⁰They moved out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹They moved out from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²²They moved out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³They moved out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴They moved out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵They moved out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶They moved out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷They moved out from Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸They moved out from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

²⁹They moved out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰They moved out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹They moved out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.

³²They moved out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

³³They moved out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴They moved out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵They moved out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber [or Elath on the gulf of Aqabah].

³⁶They moved out from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

³⁷They moved out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸Aaron the priest went up on Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.

³⁹Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev (the South country) in the land of Canaan, heard that the sons of Israel were coming.

⁴¹They moved out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴²Then they moved out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³They moved out from Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴They moved out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵They moved out from Iyim (Iye-abarim) and camped at Dibon-gad.

⁴⁶They moved out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.

⁴⁷They moved out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before [Mount] Nebo.

⁴⁸They moved out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho [their last stop on the journey to Canaan].

⁴⁹They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

⁵⁰Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying,

⁵¹"Say to the children of Israel, 'When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

⁵²then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you and destroy all their sculpted images, and destroy all their cast idols and completely eliminate all their [idolatrous] high places,

⁵³and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess.

⁵⁴You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be [the location of] his [inheritance]. According to the tribes of your fathers (ancestors) you shall inherit.

⁵⁵But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those you let remain of them will be like pricks in your eyes and like thorns in your sides, and they will attack you in the land in which you live.

⁵⁶And as I [the LORD] planned to do to them, so I will do to you.'"

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Command the Israelites, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall be yours as an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its boundaries,

³your southern region shall be from the Wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern boundary from the end of the Salt (Dead) Sea eastward.

⁴Your boundary shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and continue on to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar and pass on to Azmon.

⁵Then the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-arish), and its limit shall be at the [Mediterranean] Sea.

⁶'As the western boundary you shall have the Great [Mediterranean] Sea and its coastline. This shall be your western boundary.

⁷'And this shall be your north border: from the Great [Mediterranean] Sea mark out your boundary line to Mount Hor;

⁸from Mount Hor you shall mark out your boundary to the entrance of Hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad;

⁹then the [northern] boundary shall go on to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern boundary.

¹⁰'You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham;

¹¹the [eastern] boundary shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and shall descend and reach to the slope on the east of the Sea of Chinnereth [the Sea of Galilee];

¹²and the [eastern] boundary shall go down to the Jordan [River], and its limit shall be at the Salt (Dead) Sea. This shall be your land according to its boundaries all around.'"

¹³So Moses commanded the Israelites, saying, "This is the land you are to inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to be given to the nine tribes and the half-tribe [of Manasseh],

¹⁴for the tribe of the sons of Reuben and the tribe of the sons of Gad have received their inheritance by their fathers' households, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their possession.

¹⁵The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan [River] opposite Jericho, eastward toward the sunrise."

¹⁶Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁷"These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.

¹⁸You shall take one leader from every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance.

¹⁹These are the names of the men: From the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;

²⁰from the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud;

²¹from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon;

²²from the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli;

²³of the sons of Joseph: from the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod;

²⁴from the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan;

²⁵from the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach;

²⁶from the tribe of the sons of Issachar a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan;

²⁷from the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi;

²⁸from the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud."

²⁹These are the [twelve] men whom the LORD commanded [to work with Joshua and Eleazar] to divide the inheritance to the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan [across from] Jericho, saying,

²"Command the Israelites to give to the Levites cities to live in from the inheritance of their possession; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities.

³The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their livestock.

⁴"The pasture lands around the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits (1,500 ft.) around.

⁵You shall also measure outside the city on the east, south, west, and north sides two thousand cubits (3,000 ft.), with the city in the center. This shall belong to the Levites as pasture lands for the cities.

⁶[Among] the cities which you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall provide for the one who commits manslaughter to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities [to the Levites].

⁷So you shall give to the Levites forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasture lands.

⁸As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the Israelites, from the larger tribes you shall take many and from the smaller tribes few; each tribe shall give [at least some] of its cities to the Levites in proportion to [the size of] its inheritance which it possesses."

⁹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁰"Tell the Israelites, 'When you cross the Jordan [River] into the land of Canaan,

¹¹then you shall select for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge, so that the one who kills any person unintentionally may escape there.

¹²The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who has caused the death of another will not be killed until he has had a [fair] trial before the congregation.

¹³The cities which you are to provide shall be your six cities of refuge.

¹⁴You shall provide three cities on this [east] side of the Jordan [River], and three [more] cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be the cities of refuge.

¹⁵These six cities shall be a refuge for the Israelites and for the stranger and the resident alien among them; so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may escape there.

¹⁶'But if he struck his victim down [intentionally] with an iron object so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁷If he struck his victim down [intentionally] with a stone in hand, which may cause a person to die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁸Or if he struck his victim down [intentionally] with a wooden object in hand, which may cause a person to die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall certainly be put to death.

¹⁹The blood avenger shall himself put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him.

²⁰But if he pushed his victim out of hatred or threw something at him with malicious intent, and he died,

²¹or if, in enmity, he struck the victim down with his hand, and he died, the one that struck the victim shall certainly be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²²'But if he pushed the victim suddenly, not in enmity, or threw anything at him without malicious intent,

²³or without seeing him hit him [accidentally] with a stone object that could kill him, and he died, and [the offender] was not his enemy nor intending to harm him,

²⁴then the congregation shall judge between the offender and the blood avenger according to these ordinances.

²⁵The congregation shall rescue the offender from the hand of the blood avenger and return him to his city of refuge, [the place] to which he had escaped; and he shall live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the sacred oil.

²⁶But if at any time the one guilty of manslaughter comes outside the border of his city of refuge to which he fled,

²⁷and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills the offender, the blood avenger will not be guilty of murder,

²⁸because the offender should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the high priest's death the offender shall return to the land of his possession.

²⁹'These things shall be a statute for you throughout your generations wherever you may be.

³⁰'If anyone kills a person [intentionally], the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of [two or more] witnesses; but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of [only] one witness.

³¹Moreover, you shall not accept a ransom [in exchange] for the life of a murderer guilty and sentenced to death; but he shall certainly be put to death.

³²You shall not accept a ransom for him who has escaped to his city of refuge, so that he may return to live in his [own] land before the death of the high priest.

³³So you shall not pollute and defile the land in which you live; for [the shedding of innocent] blood pollutes and defiles the land. No atonement (expiation) can be made for the land for the [innocent] blood shed in it, except by the blood (execution) of him who shed it.

³⁴You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I live, for I, the LORD, live among the people of Israel.'"

¹The leaders of the fathers' households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, approached and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers' households of the Israelites,

²and they said, "The LORD commanded my lord [Moses] to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

³But if the daughters marry any of the men from any of the other tribes of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from that of our fathers (tribal ancestors) and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so it will be taken away from our allotted inheritance.

⁴When the [year of] Jubilee of the Israelites comes, then their inheritance will be added [permanently] to that of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be taken away from that of the tribe of our fathers (tribal ancestors)."

⁵Then Moses commanded the Israelites in accordance with the word of the LORD, saying, "The statement of the tribe of the sons of Joseph is correct.

⁶This is what the LORD commands regarding the daughters of Zelophehad: 'Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.'

⁷So no inheritance of the Israelites shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for every one of the Israelites shall hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers (tribal ancestors).

⁸Every daughter who possesses an inheritance [of land] in any one of the tribes of the Israelites shall marry [only] a man whose family is of her father's tribe, so that the Israelites may each possess the inheritance of his fathers (tribal ancestors).

⁹So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, but each of the tribes of the Israelites shall hold to its own inheritance."

¹⁰The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses.

¹¹For Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father's brothers.

¹²They married into the families of the descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

¹³These are the commandments and the ordinances (judgments) which the LORD commanded through Moses to the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan [across from] Jericho.

¹These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel [while they were still] beyond [that is, on the east side of] the Jordan [River] in the wilderness [across from Jerusalem], in the Arabah [the long, deep valley running north and south from the eastern arm of the Red Sea to beyond the Dead Sea] opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab (place of gold).

²It is [only] eleven days' journey from Horeb (Mount Sinai) by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea [on Canaan's border; yet Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years before crossing the border and entering Canaan, the promised land].

³In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded him to say to them,

⁴after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived at Ashtaroth in Edrei.

⁵Beyond (east of) the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying,

⁶"The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have stayed long enough on this mountain.

⁷Turn and resume your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland (the Shephelah), in the Negev (South country) and on the coast of the [Mediterranean] Sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

⁸Look, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the LORD swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.'

⁹"I spoke to you at that time, saying, 'I am not able to bear the burden of you alone.

¹⁰The LORD your God has multiplied you, and look, today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven.

¹¹May the LORD, the God of your fathers, add to you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!

¹²How can I alone bear the weight and pressure and burden of you and your strife (contention) and complaining?

¹³Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, experienced, and respected men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as heads (leaders) over you.'

¹⁴And you answered me, 'The thing which you have said to do is good.'

¹⁵So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and made them leaders over you, commanders of thousands, and hundreds, and fifties, and tens, and officers (administrators) for your tribes.

¹⁶"Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the matters between your brothers [your fellow countrymen], and judge righteously and fairly between a man and his brother, or the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) who is with him.

¹⁷You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear and pay attention to the [cases of the] least [important] as well as the great. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you [to judge], you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.'

¹⁸I commanded you at that time [regarding] all the things that you should do.

¹⁹"Then we set out from Horeb (Sinai), and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

²⁰And I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the LORD our God is about to give us.

²¹Behold, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and take possession of it, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.'

²²"Then all of you approached me and said, 'Let us send men [into the land] before us, so that they may explore and search the area for us, and bring back to us word regarding the way we should go, and the cities we should enter.'

²³The plan pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.

²⁴They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.

²⁵Then they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they reported back to us, and said, 'It is a good land which the LORD our God is about to give us.'

²⁶"Yet you were not willing to go up [to take possession of it], but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.

²⁷You murmured and were ill-tempered (discontented) in your tents, and said, 'Because the LORD hates us He has brought us from the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us.

²⁸Where can we go up? Our brothers (spies) have made our hearts melt [in fear] and demoralized us by saying, "The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large, and fortified [all the way up] to heaven. And besides, we saw the [giant-like] sons of the Anakim there."'

²⁹Then I said to you, 'Do not be shocked, nor fear them.

³⁰The LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you Himself, just as He did for you in Egypt before your [very] eyes,

³¹and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried and protected you, just as a man carries his son, all along the way which you traveled until you arrived at this place.'

³²Yet in spite of this word, you did not trust [that is, confidently rely on and believe] the LORD your God,

³³who went before you along the way, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to seek a place for you to make camp and to show you the way in which you should go.

³⁴"And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying,

³⁵'Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore (solemnly promised) to give to your fathers,

³⁶except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has walked, because he has followed the LORD completely [and remained true to Him].'

³⁷The LORD was angry with me also because of you, saying, 'Not even you shall enter Canaan.

³⁸Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there. Encourage and strengthen him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

³⁹Moreover, your little ones whom you said would become prey, and your sons, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter Canaan, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.

⁴⁰But as for you, turn around and set out for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds).'

⁴¹"Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God has commanded us.' So you equipped every man with weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country.

⁴²But the LORD said to me, 'Say to them, "Do not go up and do not fight, for I am not among you [because of your rebellion]; otherwise you will be [badly] defeated by your enemies."'

⁴³So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the LORD, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country.

⁴⁴Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do, and struck you down in Seir as far as Hormah.

⁴⁵And you returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor pay attention to you.

⁴⁶So you stayed in Kadesh; many days you stayed there.