New International Version (NIV)

Exploring Canaan

1 TheLordsaid to Moses,

2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

3 So at theLord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

4 These are their names:

from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;

5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;

7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;

9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;

12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)

17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country.

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

19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?

20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.

22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.

24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.

25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

Report on the Exploration

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.

28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.

29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”

32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.

33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

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The People Rebel

1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.

2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!

3 Why is theLordbringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.

6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes

7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.

8 If theLordis pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.

9 Only do not rebel against theLord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but theLordis with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of theLordappeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites.

11 TheLordsaid to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?

12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

13 Moses said to theLord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.

14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you,Lord, are with these people and that you,Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say,

16 ‘TheLordwas not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared:

18 ‘TheLordis slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’

19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

20 TheLordreplied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.

21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of theLordfills the whole earth,

22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—

23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.

24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

26 TheLordsaid to Moses and Aaron:

27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.

28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares theLord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say:

29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.

30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

32 But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness.

33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.

34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’

35 I, theLord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”

36 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it—

37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before theLord.

38 Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

39 When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.

40 Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land theLordpromised. Surely we have sinned!”

41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying theLord’s command? This will not succeed!

42 Do not go up, because theLordis not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,

43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from theLord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”

44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of theLord’s covenant moved from the camp.

45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

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Supplementary Offerings

1 TheLordsaid to Moses,

2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home

3 and you present to theLordfood offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to theLord—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings—

4 then the person who brings an offering shall present to theLorda grain offering of a tenth of an ephahof the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hinof olive oil.

5 With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

6 “ ‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephahof the finest flour mixed with a third of a hinof olive oil,

7 and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to theLord.

8 “ ‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to theLord,

9 bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephahof the finest flour mixed with half a hinof olive oil,

10 and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to theLord.

11 Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner.

12 Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.

13 “ ‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to theLord.

14 For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to theLord, they must do exactly as you do.

15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before theLord:

16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’ ”

17 TheLordsaid to Moses,

18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you

19 and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to theLord.

20 Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.

21 Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to theLordfrom the first of your ground meal.

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

22 “ ‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands theLordgave Moses—

23 any of theLord’s commands to you through him, from the day theLordgave them and continuing through the generations to come—

24 and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to theLord, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.

25 The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have presented to theLordfor their wrong a food offering and a sin offering.

26 The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.

27 “ ‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.

28 The priest is to make atonement before theLordfor the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven.

29 One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.

30 “ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes theLordand must be cut off from the people of Israel.

31 Because they have despised theLord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’ ”

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly,

34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.

35 Then theLordsaid to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.”

36 So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as theLordcommanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

37 TheLordsaid to Moses,

38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.

39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of theLord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.

40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.

41 I am theLordyour God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am theLordyour God.’ ”

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Korah, Dathan and Abiram

1 Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent

2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.

3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and theLordis with them. Why then do you set yourselves above theLord’s assembly?”

4 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.

5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning theLordwill show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.

6 You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers

7 and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before theLord. The man theLordchooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”

8 Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites!

9 Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at theLord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?

10 He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.

11 It is against theLordthat you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come!

13 Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us!

14 Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!”

15 Then Moses became very angry and said to theLord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

16 Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before theLordtomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

17 Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before theLord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.”

18 So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

19 When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of theLordappeared to the entire assembly.

20 TheLordsaid to Moses and Aaron,

21 “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”

22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”

23 Then theLordsaid to Moses,

24 “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’ ”

25 Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”

27 So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

28 Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that theLordhas sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea:

29 If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then theLordhas not sent me.

30 But if theLordbrings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated theLordwith contempt.”

31 As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart

32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions.

33 They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.

34 At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

35 And fire came out from theLordand consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

36 TheLordsaid to Moses,

37 “Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy—

38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before theLordand have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”

39 So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,

40 as theLorddirected him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before theLord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.

41 The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed theLord’s people,” they said.

42 But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of theLordappeared.

43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting,

44 and theLordsaid to Moses,

45 “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

46 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from theLord; the plague has started.”

47 So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.

48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.

49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.

50 Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

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The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

1 TheLordsaid to Moses,

2 “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.

3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.

4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you.

5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”

6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them.

7 Moses placed the staffs before theLordin the tent of the covenant law.

8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.

9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from theLord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

10 TheLordsaid to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.”

11 Moses did just as theLordcommanded him.

12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!

13 Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of theLordwill die. Are we all going to die?”

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Duties of Priests and Levites

1 TheLordsaid to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood.

2 Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law.

3 They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die.

4 They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.

5 “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.

6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to theLordto do the work at the tent of meeting.

7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”

Offerings for Priests and Levites

8 Then theLordsaid to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion, your perpetual share.

9 You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sinor guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.

10 Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.

11 “This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

12 “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give theLordas the firstfruits of their harvest.

13 All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to theLordwill be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

14 “Everything in Israel that is devotedto theLordis yours.

15 The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to theLordis yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.

16 When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekelsof silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

17 “But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Splash their blood against the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to theLord.

18 Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours.

19 Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to theLordI give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before theLordfor both you and your offspring.”

20 TheLordsaid to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.

22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.

23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.

24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to theLord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’ ”

25 TheLordsaid to Moses,

26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as theLord’s offering.

27 Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

28 In this way you also will present an offering to theLordfrom all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give theLord’s portion to Aaron the priest.

29 You must present as theLord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

30 “Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.

31 You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting.

32 By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.’ ”

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The Water of Cleansing

1 TheLordsaid to Moses and Aaron:

2 “This is a requirement of the law that theLordhas commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.

3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.

5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.

6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.

7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening.

8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.

10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.

11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.

12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.

13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile theLord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.

14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days,

15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.

18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death.

19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean.

20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of theLord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.

21 This is a lasting ordinance for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.

22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/NUM/19-1ce1ed88fa178f2b47e989c9d8cbc993.mp3?version_id=111—

Water From the Rock

1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.

3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before theLord!

4 Why did you bring theLord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here?

5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of theLordappeared to them.

7 TheLordsaid to Moses,

8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff from theLord’s presence, just as he commanded him.

10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”

11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But theLordsaid to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

13 These were the waters of Meribah,where the Israelites quarreled with theLordand where he was proved holy among them.

Edom Denies Israel Passage

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:

“This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come on us.

15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors,

16 but when we cried out to theLord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.

17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

18 But Edom answered:

“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”

19 The Israelites replied:

“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

20 Again they answered:

“You may not pass through.”

Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army.

21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

The Death of Aaron

22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, theLordsaid to Moses and Aaron,

24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.

25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.

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

27 Moses did as theLordcommanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community.

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

29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/NUM/20-2c6f26a294f69d214045effac4c8bfd6.mp3?version_id=111—

Arad Destroyed

1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them.

2 Then Israel made this vow to theLord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroytheir cities.”

3 TheLordlistened to Israel’s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.

The Bronze Snake

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;

5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

6 Then theLordsent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.

7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against theLordand against you. Pray that theLordwill take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 TheLordsaid to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”

9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

The Journey to Moab

10 The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.

11 Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the sunrise.

12 From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.

13 They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

14 That is why the Book of the Wars of theLordsays:

“…Zahabin Suphah and the ravines,

the Arnon

15 andthe slopes of the ravines

that lead to the settlement of Ar

and lie along the border of Moab.”

16 From there they continued on to Beer, the well where theLordsaid to Moses, “Gather the people together and I will give them water.”

17 Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!

Sing about it,

18 about the well that the princes dug,

that the nobles of the people sank—

the nobles with scepters and staffs.”

Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah,

19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.

Defeat of Sihon and Og

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

22 “Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”

23 But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel.

24 Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified.

25 Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements.

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

27 That is why the poets say:

“Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;

let Sihon’s city be restored.

28 “Fire went out from Heshbon,

a blaze from the city of Sihon.

It consumed Ar of Moab,

the citizens of Arnon’s heights.

29 Woe to you, Moab!

You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!

He has given up his sons as fugitives

and his daughters as captives

to Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 “But we have overthrown them;

Heshbon’s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.

We have demolished them as far as Nophah,

which extends to Medeba.”

31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

32 After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there.

33 Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.

34 TheLordsaid to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

35 So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/NUM/21-32ad1a0702f99db0fae0c04fc5d194cd.mp3?version_id=111—

Balak Summons Balaam

1 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

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

3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.

4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,

5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

7 The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer theLordgives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

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

10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message:

11 ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’ ”

12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for theLordhas refused to let me go with you.”

14 So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

15 Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.

16 They came to Balaam and said:

“This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,

17 because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”

18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of theLordmy God.

19 Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else theLordwill tell me.”

20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

Balaam’s Donkey

21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials.

22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of theLordstood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

23 When the donkey saw the angel of theLordstanding in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.

24 Then the angel of theLordstood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides.

25 When the donkey saw the angel of theLord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

26 Then the angel of theLordmoved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.

27 When the donkey saw the angel of theLord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.

28 Then theLordopened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

31 Then theLordopened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of theLordstanding in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

32 The angel of theLordasked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.

33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

34 Balaam said to the angel of theLord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

35 The angel of theLordsaid to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.

37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

38 “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.

40 Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the officials who were with him.

41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/NUM/22-69b0ba163a1a5fd40ad4191b3aa377bc.mp3?version_id=111—