1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and empty. Darkness was upon the surface of the deep. The Spirit of God was moving above the surface of the waters.
3 God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw the light, that it was good. He divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 God made the expanse and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. It was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear." It was so. 10 God called the dry land "earth," and the gathered waters he called "seas." He saw that it was good.
11 God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit whose seed is in the fruit, each according to its own kind." It was so. 12 The earth produced vegetation, plants producing seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit whose seed was in it, after their kind. God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 God said, "Let there be lights in the sky to divide the day from the night and let them be as signs, for seasons, for days and years. 15 Let them be lights in the sky to give light upon the earth." It was so. 16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 God said, "Let the waters be filled with great numbers of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the expanse of the sky." 21 God created the great sea creatures, as well as every living creature after its kind, creatures that move and which fill the waters everywhere, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas. Let birds multiply on the earth." 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures, each according to its own kind, livestock, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its own kind." It was so. 25 God made the wild animals after their kind, the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind. He saw that it was good.
26 God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." [1]
27 God created man in his own image. In his own image he created him. Male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply. Fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
29 God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the surface of all the earth, and every tree with fruit which has seed in it. They will be food to you. 30 To every beast of the earth, to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, and to every creature that has the breath of life I have given every green plant for food." It was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made. Behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
1 Then the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the living things that filled them.
2 On the seventh day God came to the end of his work which he had done, and so he rested on the seventh day from all his work. 3 God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had created and made.
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth, when they were created, on the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens.
5 No bush of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. 8 Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. This included the tree of life that was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river went out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one which flows throughout the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good. There are also bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. This one flows throughout the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris, and it flows east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Yahweh God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and to maintain it. 16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "From every tree in the garden you may freely eat. 17 But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat, for on the day that you eat from it, you will surely die."
18 Then Yahweh God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him." 19 Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, to all the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field. But for the man himself there was found no helper suitable for him. 21 Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, so the man slept. Yahweh God took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh where he took the rib. 22 With the rib that Yahweh God had taken from the man, he made a woman and brought her to the man. 23 The man said,
"This time, this one is bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh.
She will be called 'woman,'
because she was taken out of man."
24 Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, he will be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, but were not ashamed.
1 Now the serpent was more shrewd than any other beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Has God really said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 but concerning the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You will surely not die. 5 For God knows that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for their loins. 8 They heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
9 Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 The man said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked. So I hid myself." 11 God said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Yahweh God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
cursed are you alone among all the livestock
and all the beasts of the field.
It is on your stomach that you will go,
and it is dust that you will eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will bruise your head,
and you will bruise his heel."
16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth;
it is in pain that you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
but he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree, concerning which I commanded you, saying, 'You may not eat from it,'
Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful work you will eat from it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you will eat bread,
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken.
For dust you are,
and to dust you will return."
20 The man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all the living. 21 Yahweh God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
22 Yahweh God said, "Now the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. So now he must not be allowed to reach out with his hand, take from the tree of life, eat it, and live forever." 23 Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. 24 So God drove the man out of the garden, and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, in order to guard the way to the tree of life.
1 The man knew Eve his wife and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have produced a man with Yahweh's help." 2 Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel became a keeper of flocks, but Cain cultivated the soil. 3 It came about that in the course of time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground as an offering to Yahweh. 4 As for Abel, he brought some of the firstborn of his flock and some of the fat. Yahweh accepted Abel and his offering, 5 but Cain and his offering he did not accept. So Cain was very angry, and he scowled. 6 Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry and why are you scowling? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin crouches at the door and desires to control you, but you must rule over it." 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. It came about that while they were in the fields, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. [1]
9 Then Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" 10 Yahweh said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is calling out to me from the ground. 11 Now cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you cultivate the ground, from now on it will not yield to you its strength. A fugitive and a wanderer you will be in the earth." 13 Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Indeed, you have driven me out this day from this ground, and I will be hidden from your face. I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." 15 Yahweh said to him, "If anyone kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." Then Yahweh put a mark on Cain, so that if anyone found him, that person would not attack him.
16 So Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh and lived in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17 Cain knew his wife and she conceived. She gave birth to Enoch. He built a city and named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad. Irad became the father of Mehujael. Mehujael became the father of Methushael. Methushael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took for himself two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the father of those who live in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of those who play the harp and pipe. 22 As for Zillah, she bore Tubal-Cain, the forger of tools of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives,
"Adah and Zillah, listen to my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to my words.
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for bruising me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech will be avenged seventy-seven times."
25 Adam knew his wife again, and she bore another son. She called his name Seth and said, "God has given me another son in the place of Abel, for Cain killed him." 26 A son was born to Seth and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.
1 This is the record of the descendants of Adam. On the day that God created mankind, he made them in his own likeness. 2 Male and female he created them. He blessed them and named them mankind when they were created. 3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and he called his name Seth. 4 After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived eight hundred years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 5 Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. 7 After he became the father of Enosh, he lived 807 years and became the father of more sons and daughters. 8 Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived ninety years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 11 Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived seventy years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 14 Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared. 16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 17 Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 20 Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 23 Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and then he was gone, for God took him.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 27 Methuselah lived 969 years. Then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he became the father of a son. 29 He called his name Noah, saying, "This one will give us rest from our work and from the painful labor of our hands, which we must do because of the ground that Yahweh has cursed." 30 Lamech lived 595 years after he became the father of Noah. He became the father of more sons and daughters. 31 Lamech lived 777 years. Then he died.
32 After Noah had lived five hundred years, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
1 It came about when mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were attractive. They took for themselves wives, any of them that they chose. 3 Yahweh said, "My spirit will not remain in mankind forever, for they are flesh. They will live 120 years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward. This happened when the sons of God married daughters of men, and they had children with them. These were the mighty men of old, men of renown.
5 Yahweh saw that the wickedness of mankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 Yahweh regretted that he had made mankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So Yahweh said, "I will wipe away mankind whom I have created from the surface of the earth—mankind and animals, and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.
9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. 10 Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth was corrupt before God, and it was filled with violence. 12 God saw the earth; behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 God said to Noah, "I can see that it is time to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Indeed, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch within and without. 15 This is how you will make it: The length of the ark is to be three hundred cubits; the breadth of it is to be fifty cubits, and the height of it is to be thirty cubits. 16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it at a cubit from the top of the side. Place a door in the side of the ark and make a lower, a second, and a third deck. 17 Listen, I am about to bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that has in it the breath of life from under heaven. Everything that is on the earth will die. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you. You will come into the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons' wives with you. 19 Of every living creature of all flesh, two of every kind you must bring into the ark, to keep them alive with you, both male and female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, and of animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort will come to you to keep them alive. 21 Gather for yourself every kind of food that is eaten and store it, so that it will be food for you and for them." 22 So Noah did this. According to all that God commanded him, so he did.
1 Yahweh said to Noah, "Come, you and all your household, into the ark, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Of every clean animal you will bring with you seven males and seven females. From the animals that are not clean, of them bring two, the male and his mate. 3 Also of the birds of the sky, bring seven males and seven females, to keep their offspring alive upon the surface of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will cause it to rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. I will destroy from off the surface of the ground every living thing that I have made." 5 Noah did all that Yahweh commanded him.
6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came upon the earth. 7 Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives went into the ark together because of the waters of the flood. 8 Clean animals and unclean animals, birds, and everything that creeps upon the ground, 9 two by two, male and female, came to Noah and went into the ark, just as God had commanded Noah. 10 It came about that after the seven days, the waters of the flood came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day, all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 The rain began and fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.
13 On that very same day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, entered into the ark. 14 They entered along with each wild animal according to its kind, and each sort of livestock according to its kind, and each creeping thing that creeps upon the earth according to its kind, and every sort of bird according to its kind, each kind of creature with wings. 15 Two of all flesh in which was the breath of life came to Noah and entered into the ark. 16 The animals that went in were male and female of all flesh; they entered in just as God had commanded him. Then Yahweh shut the door after them. 17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted the ark and raised it above the earth. 18 The waters completely covered over the earth, and the ark floated upon the surface of the water. 19 The waters rose greatly on the earth so that all the high mountains that were under the entire sky were covered. 20 The waters rose fifteen cubits above the tops of the mountains. 21 All living beings that moved upon the earth died—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the living creatures that lived in great numbers upon the earth, and all mankind. 22 All living creatures who lived on the land, who breathed the breath of life through their noses, died. 23 So every living thing that was on the surface of the earth was wiped out, mankind and animals and creeping things and birds of the sky. They were all destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left. 24 The waters stayed upon the earth for 150 days.
1 God remembered Noah, all the wild animals, and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters started going down. 2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, and it stopped raining. 3 The flood waters went down slowly from the earth, and after the end of 150 days the waters had gone down. 4 The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to go down until the tenth month. On the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.
6 It came about after forty days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7 He sent out a raven and it flew back and forth until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the waters had gone down from the surface of the earth, 9 but the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, for the waters were still covering the whole earth. He reached out with his hand, and took and brought her into the ark with him. 10 He waited another seven days and again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11 The dove returned to him in the evening. Look! In her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had gone down from the earth. 12 He waited another seven days, and sent out the dove again. She did not return again to him.
13 It came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from off the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ark, looked out, and saw that, behold, the surface of the ground was dry. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15 God said to Noah, 16 "Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons' wives with you. 17 Take out with you every living creature of all flesh that is with you—the birds, the animals, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth—so that they may increase greatly on the earth, that they may be fruitful and multiply upon the earth." 18 So Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him. 19 Every living creature, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, according to their families, left the ark.
20 Noah built an altar to Yahweh. He took some of the clean animals and some of the clean birds, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground because of mankind, even though the intention of mankind's heart is evil from childhood. Nor will I again destroy everything living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remains,
seed time and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
and day and night
will not cease."
1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be upon every living thing on the earth, upon every bird of the sky, upon everything that moves on the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4 But you must not eat meat with its life—that is its blood—in it. 5 But for your blood, the life that is in your blood, I will require payment. From the hand of every animal I will require it. From the hand of any man, that is, from the hand of one who has murdered his brother, I will require an accounting for the life of that man.
6 Whoever sheds man's blood,
by man will his blood be shed,
for it was in the image of God that he made man.
7 As for you, be fruitful and multiply, spread throughout the earth and multiply on it."
8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 "As for me, listen! I am going to confirm my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, with the birds, the livestock, and every creature of the earth with you, from all that came out of the ark, to every living creature on the earth. 11 I hereby confirm my covenant with you, that never again will all flesh be destroyed by the waters of a flood. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12 God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 It will come about when I bring a cloud over the earth and the rainbow is seen in the cloud, 15 then I will call to mind my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. The waters will never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow will be in the clouds and I will see it, in order to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
17 Then God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have confirmed between me and all flesh that is on the earth."
18 The sons of Noah that came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
20 Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. 21 He drank some of the wine and became drunk. He was lying uncovered in his tent. 22 Then Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. 23 So Shem and Japheth took a robe and laid it upon both their shoulders, and walked backwards and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned the other way, so they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he learned what his youngest son had done to him. 25 So he said,
"Cursed be Canaan.
May he be a servant to his brothers' servants."
26 He also said,
"May Yahweh, the God of Shem, be blessed,
and may Canaan be his servant.
27 May God extend the territory of Japheth,
and let him make his home in the tents of Shem.
May Canaan be his servant."
28 After the flood, Noah lived three hundred fifty years. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.
1 These were the descendants of the sons of Noah, that is, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, [1] and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastland peoples separated and went into their lands, every one with its own language, according to their clans, by their nations.
6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteka. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush became the father of Nimrod, who was a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. That is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh." 10 The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad, and Kalneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen, which was between Nineveh and Calah. It was a large city.
13 Mizraim became the father of the Ludites, the Anamites, the Lehabites, the Naphtuhites, 14 the Pathrusites, the Kasluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.
15 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and of Heth, 16 also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites spread out. 19 The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, in the direction of Gerar, as far as Gaza, and as one goes toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. 20 These were the sons of Ham, by their clans, by their languages, in their lands, and in their nations.
21 Sons also were born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was also the ancestor of all the people of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
24 Arphaxad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber.
25 Eber had two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.
26 Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
30 Their territory was from Mesha, all the way to Sephar, the mountain of the east. 31 These were the sons of Shem, according to their clans and their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.
32 These were the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations. From these the nations separated and went over the earth after the flood.
1 Now the whole earth used one language and had the same words. 2 As they journeyed in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there. 3 They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick instead of stone and tar as mortar. 4 They said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach to the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves. If we do not, we will be scattered across the surface of the whole earth." 5 So Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the descendants of Adam had built. 6 Yahweh said, "Look, they are one people with the same language, and they are beginning to do this! Soon nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they may not understand each other." 8 So Yahweh scattered them from there across the surface of all the earth and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth and from there Yahweh scattered them abroad over the surface of all the earth.
10 These were the descendants of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and he became the father of Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arphaxad. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 Arphaxad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber. 15 Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu. 19 Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug. 21 Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah. 25 Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27 Now these were the descendants of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah, a daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milkah and Iskah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of his son Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and together they left Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. But they came to Haran and stayed there. 32 Terah lived 205 years and then died in Haran.
1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Go from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's household, to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you,
and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, but whoever dishonors you I will curse.
Through you will all the families of the earth be blessed."
4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him to do, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai, his wife, Lot, his brother's son, all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the people that they had acquired in Haran. They left to go into the land of Canaan, and came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in the land. 7 Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So there Abram built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country to the east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh. 9 Then Abram continued journeying, going toward the Negev.
10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive. 13 Say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me because of you, and so that my life will be spared because of you." 14 It came about that when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household. 16 Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 Pharaoh summoned Abram, and said, "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, here is your wife. Take her, and go your way." 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men concerning him, and they sent him away, along with his wife and all that he had.
1 So Abram went up from Egypt and went into the Negev, he, his wife, and all that he had. Lot also went with them. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 He continued on his journey from the Negev to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been before, between Bethel and Ai. 4 He went to the place where the altar was that he had built previously. Here he called on the name of Yahweh. 5 Now Lot, who was traveling with Abram, also had flocks, herds, and tents. 6 The land was not able to support them both living close together, because their possessions were very many, so that they could not stay together. 7 Also, there was a dispute between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land at that time. 8 So Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; after all, we are family. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Go ahead and separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right. Or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left." 10 So Lot looked around, and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere all the way to Zoar, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt. This was before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan and traveled east, and the relatives separated from each other. 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived among the cities of the plain. He set up his tents as far away as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were very wicked sinners against Yahweh.
14 Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had departed from him, "Look from the place where you are standing to the north, south, east, and west. 15 All this land which you see, I will give to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you." 18 So Abram picked up his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there built an altar to Yahweh.
1 It came about in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim, 2 that they made war against Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar). 3 These latter five kings joined together in the Valley of Siddim (also called the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 Then in the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran, which is near the desert. 7 Then they turned and came to En Mishpat (also called Kadesh), and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazezon Tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar) went out and prepared for battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, Tidal, king of Goyim, Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar; four kings against the five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell in there. Those who were left fled to the mountains. 11 So the kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 When they went, they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who was living in Sodom, along with all his possessions.
13 One who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was living by the oaks that belonged to Mamre, the Amorite, who was the brother of Eshkol and Aner, who were all allies of Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that enemies had captured his relative, he led out his 318 trained men who had been born in his house, and he pursued them as far as Dan. 15 He divided his men against them at night, he and his servants, and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (also called the King's Valley).
18 Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed him saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 Blessed be God Most High,
who has given your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself." 22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will not take a thread, a sandal strap, or anything that is yours, so that you can never say, 'I have made Abram rich.' 24 I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten and the share of the men that went with me. Let Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre take their portion."
1 After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and your very great reward."
2 Abram said, "Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 Abram said, "Since you have given me no descendant, see, one born in my house will be my heir!" 4 Then, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but rather the one who will come from your own body will be your heir." 5 Then he brought him outside, and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be." 6 He believed Yahweh, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 He said to him, "I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it." 8 He said, "Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?" 9 Then he said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a dove, and a young pigeon." 10 He brought him all these, and cut them in two, and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not divide the birds. 11 When the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 Then when the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep and, behold, a deep and terrifying darkness overwhelmed him. 13 Then Yahweh said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. 14 I will judge that nation that they will serve, and afterward they will come out with abundant possessions. 15 But you will go to your fathers in peace, and you will be buried in a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit." 17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces. 18 On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I hereby give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not borne any children for him, but she had a female servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, Yahweh has kept me from having children. Please go to my servant. It may be that I will have children by her." Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 It was after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan that Sarai, Abram's wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband as a wife. 4 So he went to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "This wrong on me is because of you. I gave my servant woman into your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Let Yahweh judge between me and you." 6 But Abram said to Sarai, "See here, your servant woman is in your power, do to her what you think best." So Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
7 The angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring that is on the way to Shur. 8 He said, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where did you come from and where are you going?" Then she said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." 9 The angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority." 10 Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants, so that they will be too numerous to count." 11 The angel of Yahweh also said to her,
"Behold, you are pregnant
and will bear a son,
and you will call his name Ishmael,
because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man.
He will be hostile against every man,
and every man will be hostile to him,
and he will live apart from all his brothers."
13 Then she gave this name to Yahweh who spoke to her, "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Do I really continue to see, even after he has seen me?" 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar gave birth to Abram's son, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless. 2 Then I will confirm my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." 3 Abram bowed low with his face to the ground and God talked with him, saying, 4 "As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer will your name be Abram, but your name will be Abraham—for I appoint you to be the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 8 I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land where you have been sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."
9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you must keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 Every male among you that is eight days old must be circumcised, throughout your people's generations. This includes him who is born into your household and him who is bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 13 He who is born into your household and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised. Thus my covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant."
15 God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai any more. Instead, her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become the mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her." 17 Then Abraham bowed low with his face to the ground, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? How can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?" 18 Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" 19 God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you must name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant with his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him abundantly. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him become a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time in the next year."
22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all those who were born into his household, and all those who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in that same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 On the very same day Abraham and Ishmael his son were both circumcised. 27 All the men of his household were circumcised with him, including those born into the household and those bought with money from a foreigner.
1 Yahweh appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent doorway in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and, behold, he saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed low to the ground. 3 He said, "My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant." 4 Let a little water be brought, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little food, so that you may refresh yourselves. Afterwards you can go your way, since you have come to your servant." They replied, "Do as you have said." 6 Then Abraham quickly went into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Hurry, get three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make bread." 7 Then Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf that was tender and good, and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it. 8 He took curds and milk, and the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food before them, and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He replied, "There, in the tent." 10 He said, "I will certainly return to you in the springtime, and see, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah was listening in the tent doorway, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, very advanced in age, and Sarah had passed the age when women could bear children. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying to herself, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" 13 Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really bear a child, when I am old'? 14 Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the time appointed by me, in the spring, I will return to you. About this time next year Sarah will have a son." 15 Then Sarah denied it and said, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He replied, "No, you did laugh."
16 Then the men arose to leave and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to see them on their way. 17 But Yahweh said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 since Abraham will indeed become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him so that he may instruct his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham what he has said to him." 20 Then Yahweh said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and because their sin is so serious, 21 I will now go down there and see the outcry against her that has come to me, whether they have really done it. If not, I will know."
22 So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before Yahweh. 23 Then Abraham approached and said, "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Perhaps there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are there? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, killing the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be treated the same as the wicked. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" 26 Yahweh said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham answered and said, "See now, I have undertaken to speak to my Lord, even though I am only dust and ashes! 28 What if there are five less than fifty righteous? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" Then he said, "I will not destroy it, if I find there forty-five." 29 He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He replied, "I will not do it for the forty's sake." 30 He said, "Please do not be angry, Lord, so I may speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there." He replied, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there." 31 He said, "See now, I have undertaken to speak to my Lord! Perhaps twenty will be found there." He replied, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake." 32 He said, "Please do not be angry, Lord, and I will speak this one last time. Perhaps ten will be found there." Then he said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake." 33 Yahweh went on his way as soon as he had finished talking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.
1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. Lot saw them, arose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 He said, "See now, my masters, please turn aside into your servant's house, stay for the night, and wash your feet. Then you can rise up early and go on your way." They replied, "No, we will spend the night in the town square." 3 But he urged them strongly, so they went with him, and entered into his house. He prepared a meal and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the men from every part of the city. 5 They called to Lot, and said to him, "Where are the men that came in to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." 6 So Lot went out the door to them and shut the door after himself. 7 He said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Please let me bring them out to you, and you do to them whatever is good in your eyes. Only do nothing to these men, because they have come under the shadow of my roof." 9 They said, "Stand back!" They also said, "This one came here to live as a foreigner, and now he has become our judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." They pressed hard against the man, against Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 Then Lot's visitors struck with blindness the men who were outside the door of the house, both small and great, so that they became exhausted when they were trying to find the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here? Any sons-in-law, your sons and your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, get them out of here. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the accusations against it before Yahweh have become so loud that he has sent us to destroy it." 14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, the men who had promised to marry his daughters, and said, "Quick, get out of this place, for Yahweh is about to destroy the city." But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. 15 When dawn came, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Get going, take your wife and your two daughters that are here, so you are not swept away in the punishment of the city." 16 But he lingered. So the men grabbed his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, because Yahweh was merciful to him. They brought them out, and set them outside the city. 17 When they had brought them out, one of the men said, "Run for your lives! Do not look back, or stay anywhere on the plain. Escape to the mountains so you are not swept away." 18 Lot said to them, "No, please, my masters! 19 See now, your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life, but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. 20 See now, the city over there is a little one. Please, let me escape there—Is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved." 21 He said to him, "Alright, I am granting this request also, that I will not destroy the city which you have mentioned. 22 Hurry! Escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the city was named Zoar.
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot reached Zoar. 24 Then Yahweh rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky. 25 He destroyed those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the plants that grew on the ground. 26 But Lot's wife, who was behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain. He looked and behold, smoke was rising from the land like the smoke of a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, God called Abraham to mind. He sent Lot out of the midst of the destruction when he destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.
30 But Lot went up from Zoar to live in the mountains with his two daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 The firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere to lie with us according to the way of all the world. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may keep our family line alive through our father." 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. Then the firstborn went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down, nor when she got up. 34 The next day the firstborn said to the younger, "Listen, here I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you should go and lie with him, so that we may keep our family line alive through our father." 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger went and lay with him. He did not know when she lay down or when she got up. 36 So both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. 37 The firstborn gave birth to a son, and named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 38 As for the younger daughter, she also gave birth to a son, and named him Ben-Ammi. He became the ancestor of the people of Ammon of today.
1 Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He was a foreigner living in Gerar. 2 Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." So Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. 3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream in the night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife." 4 Now Abimelek had not come near her and he said, "Lord, would you kill even a righteous nation? 5 Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister?' Even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands." 6 Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I also know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not allow you to touch her. 7 Therefore, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you and all who are yours will surely die."
8 Abimelek rose early in the morning and called all of his servants to himself. He told all these things to them, and the men were very afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called for Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me deeds that ought not to be done." 10 Abimelek said to Abraham, "What prompted you to do this thing?" 11 Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 When God caused me to leave my father's house and travel from place to place, I said to her, 'You must show me this faithfulness as my wife: At every place where we go, say about me, "He is my brother."'" 14 Then Abimelek took sheep and cattle, and male slaves and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham. Then he returned Sarah, Abraham's wife, to him. 15 Abimelek said, "Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever it pleases you." 16 To Sarah he said, "Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is to cover any offense against you in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone, you are completely made right." 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife, and his female slaves so that they were able to have children. 18 For Yahweh had closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelek because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
1 Yahweh paid attention to Sarah as he had said he would, and Yahweh did for Sarah just as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham named his son, the one who had been born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 4 Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, "God has made me laugh; every one who hears will laugh with me." 7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children, and yet I have borne him a son in his old age!"
8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. 10 So she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac." 11 This thing was very grievous to Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be grieved because of the young man and because of your servant girl. Listen to Sarah's words in all she says to you about this matter, because it is through Isaac that your descendants will be named. 13 I will also make the son of the servant woman into a nation, because he is your descendant." 14 Abraham rose up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder. He gave her the boy and sent her away. She departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the waterskin was gone, she abandoned the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went, and sat down a short distance from him, about the distance of a bowshot away, for she said, "Let me not look upon the death of the child." As she sat there across from him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 God heard the voice of the young man, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the young man where he is. 18 Get up, raise up the young man, and encourage him; for I will make him into a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the young man a drink. 20 God was with the young man, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
22 It came about at that time that Abimelek and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my offspring, nor with my descendants. Show to me and to the land in which you have been staying the same covenant faithfulness that I have shown to you." 24 Abraham said, "I swear." 25 Abraham also complained to Abimelek concerning a well of water that Abimelek's servants had seized from him. 26 Abimelek said, "I do not know who has done this thing. You did not tell me before now; I have not heard of it until today." 27 So Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a covenant. 28 Then Abraham set seven female lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Abimelek said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven female lambs that you have set by themselves?" 30 He replied, "These seven female lambs you will receive from my hand, so that it may be a witness for me, that I dug this well." 31 So he called that place Beersheba, because there they both swore an oath. 32 They made a covenant at Beersheba, and then Abimelek and Phicol, the captain of his army, returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. There he called on the name of Yahweh, the eternal God. 34 Abraham remained as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.
1 It came about after these things that God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" Abraham said, "Here I am." 2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains there, which I will tell you about." 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, then set out on his journey to the place that God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place afar off. 5 Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go over there. We will worship and come again to you." 6 Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on Isaac his son. He took in his own hand the fire and the knife; and they went both of them together. 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father," and he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "See, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So they went on, both of them together.
9 When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood on it. Then he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham reached out with his hand and took up the knife to kill his son. 11 Then the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" and he said, "Here I am." 12 He said, "Do not lay your hand upon the young man, nor do anything to harm him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 13 Abraham looked up and behold, behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham named that place, "Yahweh will provide," and it is said to this day, "On the mountain of Yahweh it will be provided." 15 The angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said—this is Yahweh's declaration—by myself I have sworn that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and I will greatly multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies. 18 Through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they departed and went together to Beersheba, and he lived at Beersheba.
20 It came about after these things that Abraham was told, "Milkah has borne children, as well, to your brother Nahor." 21 They were Uz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These were the eight children that Milkah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maakah.
1 Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned and wept for Sarah. 3 Then Abraham rose up and went from his dead wife, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 "I am a foreigner and sojourner among you. Please grant me a property for a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead." 5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying, 6 "Listen to us, my master. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb, so that you may bury your dead." 7 Abraham arose and bowed down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth. 8 He spoke to them, saying, "If you agree that I should bury my dead, then hear me and plead with Ephron son of Zohar, for me. 9 Ask him to sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns, which is at the end of his field. For the full price let him sell it to me publicly as a property for a burial place." 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Heth, of all those who had come into the gate of his city, saying, 11 "No, my master, hear me. I give you the field, and the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you to bury your dead." 12 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. 13 He spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "But if you are willing, please hear me. I will pay for the field. Take the money from me, and I will bury my dead there." 14 Ephron answered Abraham, saying, 15 "Please, my master, listen to me. A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and you? Bury your dead." 16 Abraham listened to Ephron and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the amount of silver that he had spoken in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the standard measurement of the merchants.
17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was next to Mamre, that is, the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and all around its border, passed 18 to Abraham by purchase in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all those who had come into the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which is next to Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it passed to Abraham as a property for a burial place from the sons of Heth.
1 Now Abraham was very old and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the one who was the oldest of his household and who was in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh 3 and I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I make my home. 4 But you will go to my country, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac." 5 The servant said to him, "What if the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land? Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?" 6 Abraham said to him, "Make sure that you do not take my son back there! 7 Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my relatives, and who promised me with a solemn oath saying, 'To your descendants I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine. Only you are not to take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 The servant took ten of his master's camels and departed. He also took with him all kinds of goods from his master. He departed and went to the region of Aram Naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water. It was evening, the time that women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, "Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today and show covenant faithfulness to my master Abraham. 13 Look, here I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Let it happen like this. When I say to a young woman, 'Please lower your pitcher so that I may drink,' and she says to me, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too,' then let her be the one that you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown covenant faithfulness to my master." 15 It came about that even before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out with her water pitcher on her shoulder. Rebekah was born to Bethuel son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother. 16 The young woman was very beautiful and a virgin. No man had ever known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little drink of water from your pitcher." 18 She said, "Drink, my master," and she quickly let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." 20 So she hurried and emptied her pitcher into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and drew water for all his camels. 21 The man watched her in silence to see whether Yahweh had prospered his journey or not. 22 As the camels finished drinking, the man brought out a gold nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets for her arms weighing ten shekels, 23 and asked, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me please, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor." 25 She also said to him, "We have plenty of both straw and feed, and also room for you to spend the night." 26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped Yahweh. 27 He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his covenant faithfulness and his trustworthiness toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me directly to the house of my master's relatives."
28 Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about all of these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran to the man who was out at the road by the spring. 30 When he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he had heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "This is what the man said to me," he went to the man, and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 Then Laban said, "Come, you blessed of Yahweh. Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels." 32 So the man came to the house and he unloaded the camels. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was provided to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 They set food before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." So Laban said, "Speak on." 34 He said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35 Yahweh has blessed my master very much and he has become great. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given everything that he owns to him. 37 My master made me swear, saying, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I make my home. 38 Instead, you must go to my father's family, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son.' 39 I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' 40 But he said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and he will prosper your way, so that you will get a wife for my son from among my relatives and from my father's family line. 41 But you will be free from my oath if you come to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from my oath.' 42 So I arrived today at the spring, and said, 'O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please, if you do indeed intend to make my journey successful— 43 here I am, standing by the spring of water—let the young woman who comes out to draw water, the woman to whom I say, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink," 44 the woman who says to me, "Drink, and I will also draw water for your camels"—let her be the woman whom you, Yahweh, have chosen for my master's son.' 45 Even before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' 46 She quickly lowered her pitcher from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels water also.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 I asked her and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milkah bore to him.' Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. 48 Then I bowed down and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the way that is right to find the daughter of my master's relative for his son. 49 Now therefore, if you are prepared to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right hand or to the left."
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing has come from Yahweh; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 Look, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go, so she may be the wife of your master's son, as Yahweh has spoken." 52 When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before Yahweh. 53 The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank. They stayed there overnight, and when they arose in the morning, he said, "Send me away to my master." 55 Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman stay with us for a few more days, at least ten. After that she may go." 56 But he said to them, "Do not hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master." 57 They said, "We will call the young woman and ask her." 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" She replied, "I will go." 59 So they sent their sister Rebekah, along with her female servant, on her journey with Abraham's servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah, and said to her,
"Our sister, may you be the mother
of thousands of ten thousands,
and may your descendants possess
the gate of those who hate them."
61 Then Rebekah arose, and she and her servant girls mounted the camels, and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
62 Now Isaac was living in the Negev, and had just returned from Beer Lahai Roi. 63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. When he looked up and saw, behold, there were camels coming! 64 Rebekah looked, and when she saw Isaac, she jumped down from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, "Who is that man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil, and covered herself. 66 The servant recounted to Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
1 Abraham took another wife; her name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Assyrian people, the Letush people, and the Leum people. 4 Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants. 5 Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac. 6 However, while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them to the land of the east, away from Isaac, his son. 7 These were the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, 175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man with a full life, and he was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre. 10 This field Abraham had bought from the sons of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
12 Now these were the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.
13 These were the names of Ishmael's sons, according to their birth order: Nebaioth—the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were Ishmael's sons, and these were their names, by their villages, and by their encampments; twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 They lived from Havilah to Ashhur, which is near Egypt, as one goes toward Assyria. They lived in hostility with each other.
19 This is the account of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to Yahweh for his wife because she was barren, and Yahweh answered his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" She went to ask Yahweh about this. 23 Yahweh said to her,
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."
24 When it was time for her to give birth, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first child came out red all over like a hairy garment. They called his name Esau. 26 After that, his brother came out. His hand was grasping Esau's heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when his wife bore them.
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a quiet man, who spent his time in the tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau because he ate the animals that he had hunted, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Jacob cooked some stew. Esau came in from the field, and he was weak from hunger. 30 Esau said to Jacob, "Feed me with that red stew. Please, I am exhausted!" That is why his name was called Edom. 31 Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright." 32 Esau said, "Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?" 33 Jacob said, "First swear to me," so Esau swore an oath and in that way he sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils. He ate and drank, then got up and went on his way. In this manner Esau despised his birthright.
1 Now a famine happened in the land, besides the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelek, king of the Philistines at Gerar. 2 Now Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land that I tell you to live in. 3 Stay in this very land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants, I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my instructions, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister." He feared to say, "She is my wife," because he thought, "The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah, because she is so beautiful." 8 After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines happened to look out of a window. He saw, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife. 9 Abimelek called Isaac to him and said, "Look, certainly she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought someone might kill me to get her." 10 Abimelek said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." 11 So Abimelek commanded all the people and said, "Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death."
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, because Yahweh blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and grew more and more until he became very great. 14 He had many sheep and cattle, and a large household. The Philistines envied him. 15 Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up by filling them with earth. 16 Abimelek said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we." 17 So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.
18 Once again Isaac dug out the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death. Isaac called the wells by the same names that his father had called them. 19 When Isaac's servants dug in the valley, they found there a well of flowing water. 20 The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, and said, "This water is ours." So Isaac named that well "Esek," because they had quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that, too, so he gave it the name of "Sitnah." 22 He left there and dug yet another well, but they did not quarrel over that one. So he called it Rehoboth, and he said, "Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land."
23 Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba. 24 Yahweh appeared to him that same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants, for my servant Abraham's sake." 25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. There he pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well.
26 Then Abimelek went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the captain of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, "Why are you coming to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?" 28 Then they said, "We have clearly seen that Yahweh has been with you. So we decided that there should be an oath between us, yes, between us and you. So let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you, and as we have treated you well and have sent you away in peace. Indeed, you are blessed by Yahweh." 30 So Isaac made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 They rose early in the morning and swore an oath with each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug. They said, "We have found water." 33 He called the well Shibah, so the name of that city is Beersheba to this day.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took a wife, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, "My son." Esau said to him, "Here I am," 2 and Isaac said, "See now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Therefore take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 Make delicious food for me, the sort that I love, and bring it to me so I can eat it and bless you before I die."
5 Now Rebekah heard it when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it back. 6 Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son and said, "See here, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother. He said, 7 'Bring me game and make me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.' 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock, and bring me two good kids; and I will make delicious food from them for your father, just like he loves. 10 You will take it to your father, so that he may eat it, so that he may bless you before his death." 11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "See, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will touch me, and I will seem to him as a deceiver. I will bring a curse upon me and not a blessing." 13 His mother said to him, "My son, let any curse fall on me. Just obey my voice, and go, bring them to me." 14 So Jacob went and got the young goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made delicious food, just like his father loved. 15 Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau, her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son. 16 She put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She put the delicious food and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 Jacob went to his father and said, "My father." His father said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you said to me. Now sit up and eat some of my game, that you may bless me." 20 Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He said, "Because Yahweh your God brought it to me." 21 Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near me, so I may touch you, my son, and learn whether you are my true son Esau or not." 22 Jacob went over to Isaac his father; and Isaac touched him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands, so Isaac blessed him. 24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He replied, "I am." 25 Isaac said, "Bring the food to me, and I will eat of your game, so that I may bless you." Jacob brought the food to him. Isaac ate, and Jacob brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near now and kiss me, my son." 27 Jacob came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his clothes and blessed him. He said,
"See, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that Yahweh has blessed.
28 May God give you a portion of the dew of heaven,
a portion of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brothers,
and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
May every one who curses you be cursed;
may every one who blesses you be blessed."
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also made delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Father, get up and eat some of your son's game, so that you may bless me." 32 Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." 33 Isaac trembled very much and said, "Who was it that hunted this game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed." 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a very great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, me also, my father." 35 Isaac said, "Your brother came here deceitfully and has taken away your blessing." 36 Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and, see, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Look, I have made him your master, and I have given to him all his brothers as servants, and I have given him grain and new wine. What more can I do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his father, "Have you not even one blessing for me, my father? Bless me, even me too, my father." Esau wept loudly. 39 Isaac his father answered and said to him,
"Look, the place where you live will be
far from the richness of the earth,
away from the dew of the sky above.
40 By your sword you will live,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you rebel,
you will break his yoke off of your neck."
41 Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are near; after that I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 The words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "See, your brother Esau is consoling himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey me and flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran. 44 Stay with him for a while, until your brother's fury subsides, 45 until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?
46 Rebekah said to Isaac, "I abhor life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes one of the daughters of Heth as a wife, like these women, some of the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take a wife from there, one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you, make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your descendants after you, that you may inherit the land where you have been sojourning, which God gave to Abraham." 5 So Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take a wife from there. He also saw that Isaac had blessed him and given him a command, saying, "You must not take a wife from the women of Canaan." 7 Esau also saw that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau saw that the women of Canaan did not please Isaac his father. 9 So he went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones in that place, put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 He dreamed and saw a stairway set up on the earth. Its top reached to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it and said, "I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I will give to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread far out to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south. Through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. I will bring you into this land again; for I will not leave you. I will do all that I have promised to you." 16 Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How terrifying is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven."
18 Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head. He set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city originally was Luz. 20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will protect me on this road on which I am walking, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear, 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God. 22 Then this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be a sacred stone. From everything that you give me, I will surely give a tenth back to you."
1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there by it. For out of that well they would water the flocks, and the stone over the well's mouth was large. 3 When all the flocks had gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the well's mouth and water the sheep, and then put the stone again over the well's mouth, back in its place. 4 Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They replied, "We are from Haran." 5 He said to them, "Do you know Laban son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him." 6 He said to them, "Is he well?" They said, "He is well, and, look there, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep." 7 Jacob said, "See, it is the middle of the day. It is not the time for the flocks to be gathered together. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze." 8 They said, "We cannot water them until all the flocks are gathered together. The men will then roll the stone from the well's mouth, and we will water the sheep." 9 While Jacob was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was tending them. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob came over, rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother. 11 Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative, and that he was Rebekah's son. Then she ran and told her father.
13 When Laban heard the news about Jacob his sister's son, he ran to meet him, embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things. 14 Laban said to him, "You are indeed my bone and my flesh." Then Jacob stayed with him for about one month. 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you serve me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me, what will your wages be?" 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah's eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter." 19 Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me." 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him only a few days, for the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days have been completed—so that I may go to her!" 22 So Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 In the evening, Laban took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, who went to her. 24 Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah, to be her servant. 25 In the morning, behold, it was Leah! Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" 26 Laban said, "It is not our custom to give the younger daughter before the firstborn. 27 Complete the bridal week of this daughter, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years." 28 Jacob did so, and completed Leah's week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife also. 29 Laban also gave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel, to be her servant. 30 So Jacob went to Rachel, too, but he loved Rachel more than Leah. So Jacob served Laban for seven more years.
31 Yahweh saw that Leah was not loved, so he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked upon my affliction; surely now my husband will love me." 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son. She said, "Because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved, he has therefore given me this son also," and she called his name Simeon. 34 Then she conceived again and bore a son. She said, "Now this time will my husband be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 She conceived again and bore a son. She said, "This time I will praise Yahweh." Therefore she called his name Judah; then she stopped having children.
1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel was jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I will die." 2 Jacob's anger burned against Rachel. He said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" 3 She said, "See, there is my servant Bilhah. Go to her, so she might give birth to children on my knees, and I will have children by her." 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went to her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me, and he has heard my voice and given me a son." For this reason she called his name Dan. 7 Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." She called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a son. 11 Leah said, "This is fortunate!" so she called his name Gad. 12 Then Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a second son. 13 Leah said, "I am happy! For the daughters will call me happy." So she called his name Asher.
14 Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field. He brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes." 15 Leah said to her, "Is it a small matter to you, that you have taken away my husband? Do you now want to take away my son's mandrakes, too?" Rachel said, "Then he will lie with you tonight, in exchange for your son's mandrakes." 16 Jacob came from the field in the evening. Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So Jacob lay with Leah that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant woman to my husband." She called his name Issachar. 19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." She called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. 22 God called Rachel to mind and listened to her. He caused her to become pregnant. 23 She conceived and bore a son. She said, "God has taken away my shame." 24 She called his name Joseph, saying, "Yahweh has added to me another son."
25 After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, so that I may go to my own home and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know the service I have given you." 27 Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, wait, because I have learned by using divination that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake." 28 Then he said, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." 29 Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I worked. Now when will I provide for my own household also?" 31 So Laban said, "What will I pay you?" Jacob said, "You will not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it. 32 Let me walk through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These will be my wages. 33 My integrity will testify for me later on, when you come to check on my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, if any are found with me, will be considered to be stolen." 34 Laban said, "Agreed. Let it be according to your word." 35 That day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 Laban also put three days' journey between himself and Jacob. So Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 Jacob took fresh cut branches of the poplar, almond, and plane trees, and he peeled white streaks in them and made the white inner wood appear that was in the sticks. 38 Then he set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in front of the watering troughs where they came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink. 39 The flocks bred in front of the sticks; and the flocks produced striped, speckled, and spotted young. 40 Jacob separated out these lambs, but made the rest of them face toward the striped animals and all the black sheep in the flock of Laban. Then he separated out his flocks for himself alone and did not put them together with Laban's flocks. 41 Whenever the stronger sheep in the flock were breeding, then Jacob would lay the sticks in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, so that they might conceive among the sticks. 42 But when the feebler animals in the flock came, he did not put the sticks in front of them. So the feebler animals were Laban's, and the stronger were Jacob's. 43 The man became very prosperous. He had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, that they said, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and it is from our father's possessions that he has gotten all this wealth." 2 Jacob saw the look on Laban's face. He saw that his attitude toward him had changed. 3 Then Yahweh said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." 4 Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock 5 and said to them, "I see your father's attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that it is with all my strength that I have served your father. 7 Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not permitted him to hurt me. 8 If he said, 'The speckled animals will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled young. If he said, 'The striped will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore striped young. 9 In this way God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 Once at the time of breeding season, I saw in a dream the male goats that were mating with the flock. The male goats were striped, speckled, and spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I said, 'Here I am.' 12 He said, 'Lift up your eyes and see all the male goats that are breeding with the flock. They are striped, speckled, and spotted, for I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now rise up and leave this land and return to the land of your birth.'" 14 Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not treated by him as foreigners? For he has sold us and has also completely devoured our money. 16 For all the riches that God has taken away from our father are now ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do it."
17 Then Jacob arose and placed his sons and his wives upon the camels. 18 He drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all his property, including the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram. Then he set out to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, Rachel stole her father's household gods. 20 Jacob also deceived Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21 So he fled with all that he had and quickly passed over the River, and headed toward the hill country of Gilead.
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he took his relatives with him and pursued him for a seven days' journey. He overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 Now God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad." 25 Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country. Laban also camped with his relatives in the hill country of Gilead. [1]26 Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you deceived me and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and trick me and did not tell me? I would have sent you away with celebration and with songs, with tambourine and with harps. 28 You did not allow me to kiss my grandsons and my daughters good bye. Now you have acted foolishly. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, 'Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.' 30 Now you have gone away because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?" 31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, "I fled secretly because I was afraid and thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 Whoever has stolen your gods will not continue to live. In the presence of our relatives, identify whatever with me is yours and take it." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
33 Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. He went out of Leah's tent and entered into Rachel's tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in a camel's saddle, and sat upon them. Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 35 She said to her father, "Do not be angry, my master, that I cannot stand up before you, for I am having my period." So he searched but did not find his household gods.
36 Jacob was angry and argued with Laban. He said to him, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 For you have searched all my possessions. What have you found of all your household goods? Set them here before our relatives, so that they may judge between the two of us. 38 For twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten any rams from your flocks. 39 What was torn by beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it. You demanded payment from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was; in the day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night; and I went without sleep. 41 These twenty years I have been in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock. You have changed my wages ten times. 42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the one Isaac fears, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and my toil, and he rebuked you last night."
43 Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the grandchildren are my grandchildren, and the flocks are my flocks. All that you see is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne? 44 So now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be for a witness between you and me." 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a pile. Then they ate there by the pile. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, "This pile is a witness between me and you today." Therefore its name was called Galeed. 49 It is also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "May Yahweh watch between you and me, when we are out of sight one from another. 50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take any wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, see, God is witness between you and me." 51 Laban said to Jacob, "Look at this pile, and look at the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This pile is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 May the God of Abraham, and the god of Nahor, the gods of their father, judge between us." Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his relatives to eat a meal. They ate and spent the entire night on the mountain. 55 Early in the morning Laban got up, kissed his grandsons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home.
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp," so he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom. 4 He commanded them, saying, "This is what you will say to my master Esau: This is what your servant Jacob says: 'I have been staying with Laban, and have delayed my return until now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, and flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent this message to my master, so that I may find favor in your eyes.'" 6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him." 7 Then Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, and also the flocks, the herds, and the camels. 8 He said, "If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, then the camp that remains will escape." 9 Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will prosper you,' 10 I am not worthy of all your acts of covenant faithfulness and of all the trustworthiness that you have done for your servant. For with only my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, 'I will certainly make you prosper. I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for their number.'"
13 Jacob stayed there that night. He took some of what he had with him as a gift for Esau, his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he gave into the hand of his servants, every herd by itself. He said to his servants, "Go on ahead of me and put a space between each of the herds." 17 He instructed the first servant, saying, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose animals are these that are in front of you?' 18 Then you will say, 'They are your servant Jacob's. They are a gift sent to my master Esau. See, he is also coming after us.'" 19 Jacob also gave instructions to the second group, the third, and all the men who followed the herds. He said, "You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 You must also say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming after us.'" For he thought, "I will appease him with the gifts that I am sending ahead of me. Then later, when I will see him, perhaps he will receive me." 21 So the gifts went on ahead of him. He himself stayed that night in the camp.
22 Jacob got up during the night, and he took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons. He sent them across the ford of the Jabbok. 23 In this way he sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob's hip, so that his hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. 26 The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 The man said to him, "What is your name?" Jacob said, "Jacob." 28 The man said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." 29 Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." He said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. 30 Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is delivered." 31 The sun rose on Jacob as he passed Peniel. He was limping because of his hip. 32 That is why to this day the people of Israel do not eat the ligaments of the hip which are at the hip joint, because the man injured those ligaments while dislocating Jacob's hip.
1 Jacob looked up and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. Jacob divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 2 Then he put the female servants and their children in front, followed by Leah and her children, and followed by Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 He himself went on ahead of them. He bowed toward the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they wept. 5 When Esau looked up, he saw the women and the children. He said, "Who are these people with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant." 6 Then the female servants came forward with their children, and they bowed down. 7 Next Leah also and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down. 8 Esau said, "What do you mean by all these groups that I met?" Jacob said, "To find favor in the sight of my master." 9 Esau said, "I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." 10 Jacob said, "No, please, if I have found favor in your eyes, then accept my gift from my hand, for indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11 Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus Jacob urged him, and Esau accepted it. 12 Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way. I will go before you." 13 Jacob said to him, "My master knows that the children are young, and that the sheep and the cattle are nursing their young. If they are driven hard even one day, all the animals will die. 14 Please let my master go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are before me, and at the pace of the children, until I come to my master in Seir." 15 Esau said, "Let me leave with you some of my men who are with me." But Jacob said, "Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord." 16 So Esau that day started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob traveled to Sukkoth, built himself a house, and made shelters for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth.
18 When Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. He camped near the city. 19 Then he bought the piece of ground where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
1 Now Dinah, Leah's daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went out to meet the young women of the land. 2 Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her and lay with her, and he humiliated her. 3 He was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get this young woman for me as a wife." 5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. His sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of the matter. The men were offended. They were very angry because he had disgraced Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing should not have been done. 8 Hamor spoke with them, saying, "My son Shechem loves your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 9 Intermarry with us, give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You will live with us, and the land will be open to you to live and trade in, and to acquire property." 11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you tell me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me, but give me the young woman as a wife." 13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, because Shechem had defiled Dinah their sister. 14 They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to anyone who is uncircumcised; for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you: If you will become circumcised as we are, if every male among you is circumcised. 16 Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. 17 But if you do not listen to us and become circumcised, then we will take our sister and we will leave."
18 Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man did not delay to do what they said, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter, and because he was the most honored person in all his father's household. 20 Hamor and Shechem his son went to the gate of their city and spoke with the men of their city, saying, 21 "These men are at peace with us, so let them live in the land and trade in it for, really, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to live with us and become one people: If every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock and their property—all their animals be ours? So let us agree with them, and they will live among us." 24 All who went out to the gates of his city listened to Hamor and Shechem, his son. All males were circumcised, all who went out to the gates of his city. 25 On the third day, when they were still in pain, two of the sons of Jacob (Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers), each took his sword and they attacked the city that was certain of its security, and they killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword. They took Dinah from Shechem's house and went away. 27 The other sons of Jacob came to the dead bodies and plundered the city, because the people had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, and everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. 29 They captured all their wealth, all their children, and their wives. They even plundered everything that was in the houses. 30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me, to make me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. If they gather themselves together against me and attack me, then I will be destroyed, I and my household." 31 But Simeon and Levi said, "Should Shechem have dealt with our sister as with a prostitute?"
1 God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there. Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from Esau your brother." 2 Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your clothes. 3 Then let us depart and go up to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hand, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak that was near Shechem. 5 As they traveled, God made panic to fall on the cities that were around them, so those people did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 He built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him, when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died. She was buried down from Bethel under the oak tree, so it was called Allon Bakuth.
9 When Jacob came from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob. Your name will be Israel." So God called his name Israel. 11 God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you. To your descendants after you I also give the land." 13 God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him. 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken to him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering over it and poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
16 They journeyed on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor. She had hard labor. 17 While she was in hardest labor, the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for now you will have another son." 18 As she was dying, with her dying breath she named him Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin. 19 Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave. It is the marker of Rachel's grave to this day. 21 Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond the watchtower of the flock. 22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it.
Now Jacob had twelve sons.
23 His sons by Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 His sons by Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25 His sons by Bilhah, Rachel's female servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's female servant, were Gad and Asher. All these were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came to Isaac, his father, in Mamre in Kiriath Arba (the same as Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived.
28 Isaac lived for one hundred eighty years. 29 Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his ancestors, an old man full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
1 These were the descendants of Esau (also called Edom).
2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites. These were his wives: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel. 5 Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock—all his other animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 He did this because their possessions were too many for them to stay together. The land where they were sojourning could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau, also known as Edom, settled in the hill country of Seir.
9 These were the descendants of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
10 These were the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz son of Adah, the wife of Esau; Reuel son of Basemath, the wife of Esau.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
12 Timna, a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son, bore Amalek. These were the grandsons of Adah, Esau's wife.
13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
14 These were the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife, who was the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon. She bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
15 These were the clans among Esau's descendants: the descendants of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the clans descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.
17 These were the clans from Reuel, Esau's son: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. These were the clans descended from Reuel in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
18 These were the clans of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: Jeush, Jalam, Korah. These are the clans that descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. 19 These were the sons of Esau (who was known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.
20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the clans of the Horites, the inhabitants of Seir in the land of Edom.
22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman, and Timna was Lotan's sister.
23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he was pasturing donkeys of Zibeon his father.
25 These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
26 These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29 These were the clans of the Horites: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, and Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, Dishan: These were clans of the Horites, according to their clan lists in the land of Seir.
31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel:
32 Bela son of Beor, reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33 When Bela died, then Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place.
34 When Jobab died, Husham who was of the land of the Temanites, reigned in his place.
35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.
36 When Hadad died, then Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.
37 When Samlah died, then Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his place.
38 When Shaul died, then Baal-Hanan son of Akbor reigned in his place.
39 When Baal-Hanan son of Akbor died, then Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the granddaughter of Me-Zahab.
40 These were the names of the heads of clans from Esau's descendants, according to their clans and their regions, by their names: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These were the clan heads of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.
1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
2 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, who was a young man seventeen years old, was guarding the flock with his brothers. He was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an unfavorable report about them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age. He made him a beautifully decorated garment. 4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. They hated him and would not speak peaceably to him.
5 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told his brothers about it. They hated him even more. 6 He said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I dreamed. 7 Behold, we were tying bundles of grain in the field and behold, my bundle rose and stood upright, and behold, your bundles came around and bowed down to my bundle." 8 His brothers said to him, "Will you really reign over us? Will you actually rule over us?" They hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers. He said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream: The sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." 10 He told it to his father just as to his brothers, and his father rebuked him. He said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come to bow down to the ground to you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
12 His brothers went to tend their father's flock in Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers tending the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." Joseph said to him, "I am ready." 14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and bring me word." So Jacob sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and Joseph went to Shechem. 15 A certain man found Joseph. Behold, Joseph was wandering in a field. The man asked him, "What do you seek?" 16 Joseph said, "I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are tending the flock." 17 The man said, "They left this place, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they plotted against him to kill him. 19 His brothers said to one another, "Look, this master of dreams is approaching. 20 Come now, therefore, let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits. We will say, 'A wild animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams." 21 Reuben heard it and rescued him from their hand. He said, "Let us not take his life." 22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him"—that he might rescue him out of their hand to bring him back to his father. 23 It came about that when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his beautifully decorated garment. 24 They took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty with no water in it.
25 They sat down to eat bread. They lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh. They were traveling to carry them down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands upon him. For he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him. 28 The Midianite merchants passed by. His brothers drew Joseph up and lifted him up out of the pit. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites carried Joseph into Egypt.
29 Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. He tore his clothes. 30 He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! And I, where can I go?" 31 They slaughtered a goat and then took Joseph's garment and dipped it into the blood. 32 Then they brought the beautifully decorated garment to their father and said, "We found this. Please see whether it is your son's garment or not." 33 Jacob recognized it and said, "It is my son's clothing. A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has certainly been torn to pieces." 34 Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth upon his loins. He mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "Indeed I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son." His father wept for him. 36 The Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard.
1 It came about at that time that Judah left his brothers and stayed with a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 He met there a daughter of a Canaanite man whose name was Shua. He took her and went to her. 3 She conceived and had a son. He was named Er. 4 She conceived again and had a son. She called his name Onan. 5 She again had a son and called his name Shelah. It was at Kezib where she gave birth to him. 6 Judah found a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar. 7 Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him. 8 Judah said to Onan, "Go to your brother's wife. Do the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a child for your brother." 9 Onan knew that the child would not be his. Whenever he went to his brother's wife, he wasted it on the ground so he would not have a child for his brother. 10 What he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house until Shelah, my son, grows up." For he feared, "He might also die, just like his brothers." Tamar left and lived in her father's house.
12 After a long time, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted and went up to the shearers of his sheep at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 Tamar was told, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." 14 She took off the clothing of her widowhood and covered herself with her veil and wrapped herself. She sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up but she had not been given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her he thought that she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. 16 He went to her by the road and said, "Come, please let me come to you"—for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law—and she said, "What will you give me so you can come to me?" 17 He said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, "Will you give me a pledge until you send it?" 18 He said, "What pledge can I give you?" She replied, "Your seal and cord, and the staff that is in your hand." He gave them to her and he went to her, and she conceived by him. 19 She got up and went away. She took off her veil and put on the clothing of her widowhood. 20 Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order that he might receive the pledge back from the woman's hand, but he did not find her. 21 Then the Adullamite asked the men of the place, "Where is the cultic prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has not been a cultic prostitute here." 22 He returned to Judah and said, "I did not find her. Also, the men of the place said, 'There has not been a cultic prostitute here.'" 23 Judah said, "Let her keep the things, that we not be put to shame. Indeed, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her."
24 It came about after about three months that it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has committed prostitution, and indeed, she is pregnant by it." Judah said, "Bring her here and let her be burned." 25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law a message, "By the man who owns these I am pregnant." She said, "Determine please whose these are, the seal and cords and staff." 26 Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I am, since I did not give her as a wife to Shelah, my son." He did not know her again. 27 It came about at the time for her to give birth that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 It came about as she was giving birth one put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand and said, "This one came out first." 29 But then he drew back his hand, and, behold, his brother came out first. The midwife said, "How you have broken out!" So he was named Perez. 30 Then his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread upon his hand, and he was named Zerah.
1 Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh who was captain of the guard and an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there. 2 Yahweh was with Joseph and he became a prosperous man. He lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that Yahweh was with him and that Yahweh prospered everything that he did. 4 Joseph found favor in his sight. He served Potiphar. Potiphar made Joseph manager over his house, and everything that he possessed, he put under his care. 5 It came about from the time that he made him manager over his house and over everything he possessed, that Yahweh blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The blessing of Yahweh was on everything that Potiphar had in the house and in the field. 6 Potiphar put everything that he had under Joseph's care. He did not have to think about anything except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and attractive. 7 It came about after this that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." 8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not pay attention to what I do in the house, and he has put everything that he owns under my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. He has not kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" 10 She spoke to Joseph day after day, but he refused to lie with her or to be with her. 11 It came about one day that he went into the house to do his work. None of the men of the house were there in the house. 12 She caught him by his clothes and said, "Lie with me." He left his clothing in her hand, fled, and went outside. 13 It came about, when she saw that he had left his clothing in her hand and had fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and told them, "See, Potiphar has brought in a Hebrew to mock us. He came to me to lie with me, and I screamed. 15 It came about when he heard me scream, that he left his clothing with me, fled, and went outside." 16 She set his clothing next to her until his master came home. 17 She told him this explanation, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us, came in to mock me. 18 It came about that when I screamed, he left his clothing with me and fled outside."
19 It came about that, when his master heard the explanation his wife told him, "This is what your servant did to me," he became very angry. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. He was there in the prison. 21 But Yahweh was with Joseph and showed covenant faithfulness to him. He gave him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 22 The prison warden gave into Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, Joseph was in charge of it. 23 The prison warden did not worry about anything that was in his hand, because Yahweh was with him. Whatever he did, Yahweh prospered.
1 It came about that after these things, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and king's baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers. 3 He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he served them. They remained in custody for some time. 5 Both of them dreamed a dream—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the prison—each man had his own dream in the same night, and each dream had its own interpretation. 6 Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them. Behold, they were upset. 7 He asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in custody in his master's house, saying, "Why do you look so sad today?" 8 They said to him, "We have both dreamed a dream and no one can interpret it." Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me, please."
9 The chief of the cupbearers told his dream to Joseph. He said to him, "In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me. 10 In the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters of grapes ripened. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I placed the cup into Pharaoh's hand." 12 Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand, just as when you were his cupbearer. 14 But think of me when it goes well with you, and please show kindness to me. Mention me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison. 15 For indeed I was abducted out of the land of the Hebrews. Here also have I done nothing that they should put me in this dungeon."
16 When the chief of the bakers saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream, and, behold, three baskets of bread were on my head. 17 In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head." 18 Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation. The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree. The birds will eat your flesh off you." 20 It came about on the third day that it was Pharaoh's birthday. He made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers, among his servants. 21 He restored the chief of the cupbearers to his responsibility, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand again. 22 But he hanged the chief of the bakers, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot about him.
1 It came about at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream. Behold, he stood by the Nile. 2 Behold, seven cows came up out of the Nile, desirable and fat, and they grazed in the reeds. 3 Behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, undesirable and thin. They stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. 4 Then the undesirable and thin cows ate the seven desirable and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 Then he slept and dreamed a second time. Behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, wholesome and good. 6 Behold, seven heads, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. 7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven wholesome and full heads. Pharaoh woke up, and, behold, it was a dream. 8 It came about in the morning that his spirit was troubled. He sent and called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "I have remembered my sins today. 10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, the chief baker and me. 11 We dreamed a dream the same night, he and I. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12 There was with us there a young Hebrew man, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him and he interpreted for us our dreams. He interpreted for each of us according to his dream. 13 It came about as he interpreted for us, so it happened. Pharaoh restored me to my post, but the other one he hanged."
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph. They quickly took him out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, but there is no interpreter for it. But I have heard about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me. God will answer Pharaoh with favor." 17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the Nile. 18 Behold, seven cows came up out of the Nile, fat and desirable, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 Behold, seven other cows came up after them, weak, very undesirable, and thin. I never saw in all the land of Egypt such undesirableness like them. 20 The thin and undesirable cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21 When they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were still as undesirable as before. Then I awoke. 22 I looked in my dream, and, behold, seven heads came up upon one stalk, full and good. 23 Behold, seven more heads—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind—sprang up after them. 24 The thin heads swallowed up the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but there was none that could explain it to me."
25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are the same. What God is about to do, he has declared to Pharaoh. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are the same. 27 The seven thin and undesirable cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven thin heads scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine. 28 That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has revealed to Pharaoh. 29 Look, seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt. 30 Seven years of famine will come after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will devastate the land. 31 The abundance will not be remembered in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 That the dream was repeated to Pharaoh is because the matter has been established by God, and God will soon do it. 33 Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and put him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let them take a fifth of the crops of Egypt in the seven abundant years. 35 Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, for food to be used in the cities. They should preserve it. 36 The food will be a supply for the land for the seven years of famine which will be in the land of Egypt. In this way the land will not be devastated by the famine."
37 This advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God?" 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you. 40 You will be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than you." 41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt." 42 Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand. He clothed him with clothes of fine linen, and put a gold chain on his neck. 43 He had him ride in the second chariot which he possessed. Men shouted before him, "Bend the knee." Pharaoh put him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and apart from you, no man will lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." 45 Pharaoh called Joseph's name "Zaphenath-Paneah." He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 In the seven bountiful years the land produced abundantly. 48 He gathered up all the food of the seven years that was in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities. He put into each city the food from the fields that surrounded it. 49 Joseph stored up grain like the sand of the sea, so much that he stopped counting, because it was beyond counting. 50 Joseph had two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh, for he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." 52 He called the name of the second son Ephraim, for he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." 53 The seven years of abundance that was in the land of Egypt came to an end. 54 The seven years of famine began, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people loudly called on Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he says." 56 The famine was over all the face of the whole land. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 All the earth was coming to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.
1 Now Jacob became aware that there was grain in Egypt. He said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" 2 He said, "See here, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us from there so we may live and not die." 3 Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he said, "I fear that harm might come to him." 5 The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke severely with them. He said to them, "Where have you come from?" They said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." 8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the undefended parts of the land." 10 They said to him, "No, my master. Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man's sons. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies." 12 He said to them, "No, you have come to see the undefended parts of the land." 13 They said, "We your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. See, the youngest is this day with our father, and one brother is no longer alive." 14 Joseph said to them, "It is what I said to you; you are spies. 15 By this you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave here, unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of yourselves and let him get your brother. You will remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies." 17 He put them all in custody for three days.
18 Joseph said to them on the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God. 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in this prison, but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me so your words will be verified and you will not die." So they did so. 21 They said to one another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us." 22 Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but you would not listen? Now, see, his blood is required of us." 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 He turned from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke to them. He took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph commanded his servants to fill his brothers' bags with grain, and to put every man's money back into his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. It was done for them.
26 The brothers loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. 27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the opening of his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back. Look at it; it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?" 29 They went to Jacob, their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 "The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us and thought that we were spies in the land. 31 We said to him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' 33 The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine in your houses, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you will trade in the land.'"
35 It came about as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bag of silver was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid. 36 Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no longer alive, Simeon is gone, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me." 37 Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring Benjamin back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him to you again." 38 Jacob said, "My son will not go down with you. For his brother is dead and he alone is left. If harm comes to him on the road in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol."
1 The famine was severe in the land. 2 It came about when they had eaten the grain that they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again; buy us some food." 3 Judah told him, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down. For the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'" 6 Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?" 7 They said, "The man asked details about us and our family. He said, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We answered him according to these questions. How could we have known that he would say, 'Bring your brother down?'" 8 Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me. We will rise and go that we may live and not die, both we, you, and also our children. 9 I will be a guarantee for him. You will hold me responsible. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we would have come back here a second time." 11 Their father Israel said to them, "If it be so, now do this. Take some of the best products of the land in your bags. Carry down to the man a gift—some balm and honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand. The money that was returned in the opening of your sacks, carry again in your hand. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take also your brother. Rise and go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, so that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." 15 The men took this gift, and in their hand they took double the amount of money, along with Benjamin. They got up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon." 17 The steward did as Joseph said. He brought the men to Joseph's house. 18 The men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time we were brought in, that he may seek an opportunity against us. He might arrest us and take us as slaves, and take our donkeys." 19 They approached the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house, 20 saying, "My master, we came down the first time to buy food. 21 It came about, when we reached the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the opening of his sack, our money in full weight. We have brought it back in our hands. 22 Other money we have also brought down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks." 23 The steward said, "Peace be to you, do not fear. Your God and the God of your father must have put your money in your sacks. I received your money." The steward then brought Simeon out to them. 24 The steward took the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave feed to their donkeys. 25 They prepared the gifts for Joseph's coming at noon, for they had heard that they would eat there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought the gifts which were in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the ground. 27 He asked them about their welfare and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" 28 They said, "Your servant our father is well. He is still alive." And they bowed down and gave him honor. 29 When he lifted up his eyes he saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and he said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son." 30 Joseph hurried to go out of the room, for he was deeply moved about his brother. He sought somewhere to weep. He went to his room and wept there. 31 He washed his face and came out. He controlled himself, saying, "Serve the food." 32 The servants served Joseph by himself and the brothers by themselves. The Egyptians there ate with him by themselves because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is detestable to the Egyptians. 33 The brothers sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. The men were astonished together. 34 Joseph sent portions to them from the food in front of him. But Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of his brothers. They drank freely and were merry with him.
1 Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's opening. 2 Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's opening of the youngest, and also his money for the grain." The steward did as Joseph had said. 3 The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 4 When they were out of the city but were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, "Get up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you returned evil for good? 5 Is this not the cup from which my master drinks, and the cup that he uses for divination? You have done evil, this thing that you have done.'" 6 The steward overtook them and spoke these words to them. 7 They said to him, "Why does my master speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they would do such a thing. 8 Look, the money that we found in our sacks' openings, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then could we steal out of your master's house silver or gold? 9 If any of your servants is found with it, let him die, and we also will be my master's slaves." 10 The steward said, "Now also let it be according to your words. He with whom the cup is found will be my slave, and you others will be innocent." 11 Then each man hurried and brought his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 The steward searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes. Each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14 Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house. He was still there, and they bowed before him to the ground. 15 Joseph said to them, "What is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me practices divination?" 16 Judah said, "What can we say to my master? What can we speak? Or how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Look, we are my master's slaves, both we and he also in whose hand the cup was found." 17 Joseph said, "Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup was found, that person will be my slave, but as for you others, go up in peace to your father."
18 Then Judah came near to him and said, "My master, please let your servant speak a word in my master's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are just like Pharaoh. 19 My master asked his servants, saying, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' 20 We said to my master, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one. But his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.' 21 Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may see him.' 22 After that, we said to my master, 'The boy cannot leave his father. For if he should leave his father his father would die.' 23 Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' 24 Then it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my master. 25 Our father said, 'Go again, buy us some food.' 26 Then we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then will we go down, for we will not be able to see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.' 27 Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went out from me and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces, and I have not seen him since." 29 Now if you also take this one from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol.' 30 Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since his life is bound up in the boy's life, 31 it will come about, when he sees the boy is not with us, he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became a guarantee for the boy to my father and said, 'If I do not bring him to you, then I will bear the guilt to my father forever.' 33 Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy as slave to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I am afraid to see the evil that would come on my father."
1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all the servants who stood by him. He said loudly, "Everyone must leave me." So no servant stood by him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 He wept loudly, the Egyptians heard it, and the house of Pharaoh heard of it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" His brothers could not answer him, for they were shocked in his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." They came near. He said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Do not be grieved or angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, master of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says, "God has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay. 10 You will live in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there, for there are still five years of famine, so that you do not come to poverty, you, your household, and all that you have."' 12 Look, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You will tell my father about all my honor in Egypt and of all that you have seen. You will hurry and bring my father down here." 14 He hugged his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After that his brothers talked with him.
16 The news of the matter was told in Pharaoh's house: "Joseph's brothers have come." It pleased Pharaoh and his servants very much. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and go to the land of Canaan. 18 Get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.' 19 Now you are commanded, 'Do this, take carts out of the land of Egypt for your children and for your wives. Get your father and come. 20 Do not be concerned about your possessions, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"
21 The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To all of them he gave each man changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. 23 For his father he sent this: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt; and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other supplies for his father for the journey. 24 So he sent his brothers away and they left. He said to them, "See that you do not quarrel on the journey." 25 They went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father. 26 They told him saying "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." His heart was astonished, for he could not believe what they told him. 27 They told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them. When Jacob saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28 Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
1 Israel made his journey with all that he had and went to Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, saying, "Jacob, Jacob." He said, "Here I am." 3 He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. 4 I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely bring you up again and Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand." 5 Jacob rose up from Beersheba. The sons of Israel transported Jacob their father, their children, and their wives, in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They took their livestock and their possessions that they had accumulated in the land of Canaan. They came into Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his descendants.
8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt: Jacob and his descendants, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn;
9 the sons of Reuben, Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi;
10 the sons of Simeon, Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman;
11 and the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with his daughter Dinah. His sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; and Serah was their sister. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to Leah his daughter. These sons she bore to Jacob—sixteen in all.
19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 In Egypt Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On.
21 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.
23 The son of Dan was Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter—seven in all.
26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob, who were his direct descendants, not counting Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six in all. 27 With the two sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, the people of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy in all.
28 Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came to the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He saw him, hugged his neck, and wept on his neck a long time. 30 Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive." 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's house, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, saying, 'My brothers and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock. They have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.' 33 It will come about, when Pharaoh calls you and asks, 'What is your occupation?' 34 that you should say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we, and our forefathers.' Do this so that you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."
1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have arrived from the land of Canaan. See, they are in the land of Goshen." 2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors." 4 Then they said to Pharaoh, "We come as temporary residents in the land. There is no pasture for your servants' flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen." 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best region, the land of Goshen. If you know any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock." 7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How long have you lived?" 9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my sojourning are 130. The years of my life have been few and painful. They have not been as long as the days of my ancestors' sojourning." 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. 11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father's household, according to the number of their little ones.
13 Now there was no food in all the land; for the famine was severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph gathered all the money that was in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, by selling grain to the inhabitants. Then Joseph brought the money to Pharaoh's palace. 15 When all the money of the lands of Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, "Give us food! Why should we die in your presence because our money is gone?" 16 Joseph said, "If your money is gone, bring your livestock and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock." 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph. Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, for the flocks, for the herds, and for the donkeys. He fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my master that our money is all gone, and the herds of cattle are my master's. There is nothing left in the sight of my master, except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was very severe. In this way, the land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made them slaves from one end of Egypt's border to the other end. 22 It was only the land of the priests that Joseph did not buy, because the priests were given an allowance. They ate from the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you will plant the land. 24 At the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field and for food for your households and your little ones." 25 They said, "You have saved our lives. May we find favor in your eyes. We will be Pharaoh's servants." 26 So Joseph made it a statute which is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day, that one-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.
27 So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. His people gained possessions there. They were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob's life were one hundred forty-seven years. 29 When the time approached for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh, and show me faithfulness and trustworthiness. Please do not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I lie down with my fathers, you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in my forefathers' burial place." Joseph said, "I will do as you have said." 31 Israel said, "Swear to me," and Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.
1 It came about after these things, that one said to Joseph, "Look, your father is sick." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Jacob was told, "Look, your son Joseph has arrived to see you," Israel gathered strength and sat up in bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me 4 and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you. I will make of you an assembly of nations. I will give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.' 5 Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 The offspring who are born after them will be yours; they will be listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 But as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Whose are these?" 9 Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." Israel said, "Bring them to me, that I may bless them." 10 Now Israel's eyes were failing because of his age, so he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, but God has even allowed me to see your children." 12 Joseph brought them out from between Israel's knees, and then he bowed with his face to the earth. 13 Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 Israel reached out with his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head. He crossed his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 Israel blessed Joseph, saying,
"The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has cared for me to this day,
16 the angel who has protected me from all harm,
may he bless these boys.
May my name be named in them,
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth."
17 When Joseph saw his father place his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head." 19 His father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. Yet his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations." 20 Israel blessed them that day with these words,
"The people of Israel will pronounce blessings by your names saying,
'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh'."
In this way, Israel put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Israel said to Joseph, "See, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 To you, as one who is above your brothers, I give to you the mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."
1 Then Jacob called for his sons, and said:
"Gather yourselves together,
that I may tell you what will happen to you in the future.
2 Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob.
Listen to Israel, your father.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might,
and the beginning of my strength,
outstanding in dignity, and outstanding in power.
4 Uncontrollable as rushing water,
you will not have the preeminence,
because you went up to your father's bed.
Then you defiled it; you went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Weapons of violence are their swords.
6 O my soul, do not come into their council;
O my glory, do not join in their meetings.
For in their anger they killed men.
It was for pleasure that they hamstrung oxen.
7 May their anger be cursed, for it was fierce
and their fury, for it was severe.
I will divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father's sons will bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's cub.
My son, you have gone up from your victims.
He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, like a lioness.
Who would dare to awaken him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes. The nations will obey him.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine,
and his robe in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be as dark as wine,
and his teeth as white as milk.
13 Zebulun will live by the shore of the sea.
He will be a harbor for ships,
and his border will extend to Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 He sees a good resting place
and the pleasant land.
He will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a servant for forced labor.
16 Dan will judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake beside the road,
a poisonous snake in the path
that bites the horse's heels,
so that his rider falls backward.
18 I wait for your salvation, Yahweh.
19 Gad—raiders will attack him,
but he will attack them at their heels.
20 Asher's food will be rich,
and he will provide royal delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a doe let loose;
he will have beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough near a spring,
whose branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers will attack him bitterly
and shoot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands will be skillful
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 The God of your father will help you
and the Almighty God will bless you
with blessings of the sky above,
blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
and blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains
or the desirable things of the ancient hills.
May they be on the head of Joseph,
even upon the crown of the head of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a hungry wolf.
In the morning he will devour the prey,
and in the evening he will divide the plunder."
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. Each one he blessed with an appropriate blessing. 29 Then he instructed them and said to them, "I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the people of Heth." 33 When Jacob finished these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and went to his people.
1 Then Joseph was so distressed that he collapsed on the face of his father, and he wept over him, and he kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 They took forty days, for that was the full time for embalming. The Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4 When the days of weeping were over, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, 5 'My father made me swear, saying, "See, I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan. There you will bury me." Now let me go up and bury my father, and then I will return.'" 6 Pharaoh answered, "Go and bury your father, as he made you swear." 7 Joseph went up to bury his father. All the servants of Pharaoh went with him—the elders of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, 8 with all Joseph's household and his brothers, and his father's household. But their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen also went with him. It was a very large group of people. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned with very great and grievous sorrow. There Joseph made a seven-day mourning for his father. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a very sad occasion for the Egyptians." That is why the name of the place was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. 12 So his sons did for Jacob just as he had instructed them. 13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. Abraham had bought the cave with the field for a burial place. He had bought it from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned into Egypt, he, along with his brothers, and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.
15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph continues to be angry against us and wants to repay us in full for all the evil we did to him?" 16 So they commanded the presence of Joseph, saying, "Your father gave instructions before he died, saying, 17 'Tell Joseph this, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin when they did evil to you."' Now please forgive the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also went and lay facedown before him. They said, "See, we are your servants." 19 But Joseph answered them, "Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant to harm me, but God meant it for good, to preserve the lives of many people, as you see today. 21 So now do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children." He comforted them in this way and spoke kindly to their hearts.
22 Joseph lived in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived one hundred ten years. 23 Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir son of Manasseh, who were placed on the knees of Joseph. 24 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die; but God will surely come to you and lead you up out of this land to the land which he swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, "God will surely come to you. At that time you must carry up my bones from here." 26 So Joseph died, 110 years old. They embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 All the people who were descendants of Jacob were seventy in number. Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then Joseph, all his brothers, and all that generation died. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful, increased in numbers, became great, and became very, very mighty; the land was filled with them.
8 Now then a new king arose over Egypt, one who did not know about Joseph. 9 He said to his people, "Look, the people of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we are. 10 Come, let us deal with them wisely, otherwise they will continue to grow in numbers, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the land." 11 So they put taskmasters over them to oppress them with hard labor. The Israelites built store cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Rameses. 12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites increased in numbers and spread. So the Egyptians began to dread the people of Israel. 13 The Egyptians severely forced the people of Israel to serve. 14 They made their lives bitter with hard service with mortar and brick, and with all kinds of work in the fields. All their required work was severe.
15 Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives; the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the other Puah. 16 He said, "When you assist the Hebrew women on the birthstool, observe when they give birth. If it is a son, then you must kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she may live." 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt ordered them; instead, they let the baby boys live. 18 The king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and let the baby boys live?" 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are vigorous and have finished giving birth before a midwife comes to them." 20 God protected these midwives. The people increased in numbers and became very mighty. 21 Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Pharaoh ordered all his people, "You must throw every son that is born into the river, but every daughter you will let live."
1 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a woman of Levi. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a healthy boy, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took a papyrus basket and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. Then she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds in the water along the side of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe at the river while her attendants walked along by the riverside. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her attendant to get it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. Behold, the baby was crying. She had compassion on him and said, "This is certainly one of the Hebrews' children." 7 Then the baby's sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Should I go and find you a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for you?" 8 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the young girl went and got the child's mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to the baby's mother, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay you wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and said, "Because I drew him from the water."
11 When Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and observed their hard labors. He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 He looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one there, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. 13 He went out the next day, and, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting. He said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your companion?" 14 But the man said, "Who made you a leader and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed that Egyptian?" Then Moses became afraid and said, "What I did has certainly become known to others." 15 Now when Pharaoh heard about it, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. There he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came, drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and tried to drive them away, but Moses went and helped them. Then he watered their flock. 18 When the girls went to Reuel their father, he said, "Why are you home so early today?" 19 They said, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock." 20 He said to his daughters, "So where is he? Why did you leave the man? Call him so he can eat a meal with us." 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, who also gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22 She bore a son, and Moses called his name Gershom; he said, "I have been a resident in a foreign land."
23 A long time later, the king of Egypt died. The people of Israel groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out for help, and their pleas went up to God because of their bondage. 24 When God heard their groaning, God called to mind his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel, and he understood their situation.
1 Now Moses was still shepherding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Moses led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and arrived at Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush. Moses looked, and behold, the bush was burning, but the bush was not burned up. 3 Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this amazing thing, why the bush is not burned up." 4 When Yahweh saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses." Moses said, "Here I am." 5 God said, "Do not come any closer! Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is ground that is set apart to me." 6 He added, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Yahweh said, "I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I know about their suffering. 8 I have come down to free them from the Egyptians' power and to bring them up from that land to a good, large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9 Now the outcry of the people of Israel has come to me. Moreover, I have seen the way the Egyptians have been oppressing them. 10 Now then, I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people, the people of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel from Egypt?" 12 God replied, "I will certainly be with you. This will be a sign to you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain."
13 Moses said to God, "When I go to the people of Israel and tell them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and when they say to me, 'What is his name?' what should I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM." God said, "You must say to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to Moses, "You must say to the people of Israel, 'Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is how I will be kept in mind for all generations.'
16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together. Say to them, 'Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me and said, "I have indeed observed you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 I have promised to bring you up from the affliction in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey."' 18 They will listen to you. You and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt, and you must tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, in order that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.' 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go except under a mighty hand. 20 I will reach out with my hand and attack the Egyptians with all the miracles that I will do among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 I will grant this people favor from the Egyptians, so when you leave, you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman will ask for silver and gold jewels and for clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and any women staying in her neighbors' houses. You will put them on your sons and daughters. In this way you will plunder the Egyptians."
1 Moses answered, "But what if they do not believe me or listen to me but say instead, 'Yahweh has not appeared to you'?" 2 Yahweh said to him, "What is that in your hand?" Moses said, "A staff." 3 Yahweh said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. Moses ran back from it. 4 Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out and take it by the tail." So he reached out and took hold of the snake. It became a staff in his hand again. 5 "This is so they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." 6 Yahweh also said to him, "Now put your hand inside your robe." So Moses put his hand inside his robe. When he brought it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. 7 Yahweh said, "Put your hand inside your robe again." So Moses put his hand inside his robe, and when he brought it out, he saw that it was made healthy again, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Yahweh said, "If they do not believe you—if they do not pay attention to the first sign of my power or believe in it, then they will believe the second sign. 9 If they do not believe even these two signs of my power, or listen to you, then take some water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water that you take will become blood on the dry land."
10 Then Moses said to Yahweh, "Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you spoke to your servant. I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." 11 Yahweh said to him, "Who is it who made man's mouth? Who makes a man mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? 12 So now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say." 13 But Moses said, "Lord, please send anyone else, anyone whom you wish to send." 14 Then Yahweh became angry with Moses. He said, "What about Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Moreover, he is coming to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You will speak to him and put the words to say into his mouth. I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you both what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you. He will be like a mouth for you, and you will be like God for him. 17 You will take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs." 18 So Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go so I may return to my relatives who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace." 19 Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who were trying to take your life are dead." 20 Moses took his wife and his sons and put them on a donkey. He returned to the land of Egypt, and he took the staff of God in his hand. 21 Yahweh said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. 22 You must say to Pharaoh, 'This is what Yahweh says: Israel is my son, my firstborn, 23 and I say to you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But since you have refused to let him go, I will certainly kill your son, your firstborn.'" 24 Now on the way, when they stopped for the night, Yahweh met Moses and tried to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son, and touched it to his feet. Then she said, "Surely you are a bridegroom to me by blood." 26 So Yahweh let him alone. She said, "You are a bridegroom of blood" because of the circumcision.
27 Yahweh said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." Aaron went, met him at the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 Moses told Aaron all the words of Yahweh that he had sent him to say and about all the signs of Yahweh's power that he had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 Aaron spoke all the words that Yahweh had spoken to Moses. He also displayed the signs of Yahweh's power in the sight of the people. 31 The people believed. When they heard that Yahweh had observed the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed down and worshiped him.
1 After these things happened, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so they can have a festival for me in the wilderness.'" 2 Pharaoh said, "Who is Yahweh? Why should I listen to his voice and let Israel go? I do not know Yahweh; moreover, I will not let Israel go." 3 They said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God so that he does not attack us with plague or with the sword." 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people from their work? Go back to your labors." 5 Pharaoh also said, "There are now many people in our land, and you are making them stop their labors." 6 On that same day, Pharaoh gave a command to the people's taskmasters and overseers. He said, 7 "Unlike before, you must no longer give the people straw to make bricks. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 However, you must still demand from them the same number of bricks as they made before. Do not accept any fewer, because they are lazy. That is why they are calling out and saying, 'Allow us to go and sacrifice to our God.' 9 Increase the workload for the men so that they keep at it and pay no more attention to deceptive words."
10 So the people's taskmasters and overseers went out and informed the people. They said, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will no longer give you any straw. 11 You yourselves must go and get straw wherever you can find it, but your workload will not be reduced.'" 12 So the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters kept urging them and saying, "Finish your work, just as when straw was given to you." 14 Pharaoh's taskmasters beat the overseers, who were of the people of Israel, those same men whom they had put in charge of the workers. The taskmasters kept asking them, "Why have you not produced all the bricks required of you, either yesterday and today, as you used to do in the past?"
15 So the overseers, who were of the people of Israel, came to Pharaoh and cried out to him. They said, "Why are you treating your servants this way? 16 No straw is being given to your servants anymore, but they are still telling us, 'Make bricks!' We, your servants, are even beaten now, but it is the fault of your own people." 17 But Pharaoh said, "You are lazy! You are lazy! You say, 'Allow us to go sacrifice to Yahweh.' 18 So now go back to work. No more straw will be given to you, but you must still make the same number of bricks." 19 The overseers, who were of the people of Israel, saw that they were in trouble when they were told, "You must not reduce the daily number of bricks." 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were standing outside the palace, as they went away from Pharaoh. 21 They said to Moses and Aaron, "May Yahweh look at you and punish you, because you have made us offensive in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants. You have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22 Moses went back to Yahweh and said, "Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you send me in the first place? 23 Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak to him in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have not set your people free at all."
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. You will see this, for he will let them go because of my strong hand. Because of my strong hand, he will drive them out of his land."
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am Yahweh. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty; but by my name, Yahweh, I was not known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, in order to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have called to mind my covenant. 6 Therefore, say to the people of Israel, 'I am Yahweh. I will bring you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their power. I will rescue you with a display of my power, and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to myself as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the hard labors of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.'" 9 When Moses told this to the people of Israel, they would not listen to him because of their discouragement about their severe slavery.
10 Then Yahweh said to Moses, saying, 11 "Go tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go from his land." 12 Moses said to Yahweh, "If the people of Israel have not listened to me, why will Pharaoh listen to me, since I am not good at speaking?" 13 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He gave them a command for the people of Israel and for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 These were the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanok, Pallu, Hezron, and Karmi. These were the clan ancestors of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul—the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clan ancestors of Simeon.
16 Here are listed the names of the sons of Levi, according to their genealogies. They were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived until he was 137 years old. 17 The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, according to their clans. 18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived until he was 133 years old. 19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These became the clan ancestors of the Levites, together with their descendants.
20 Amram married Jochebed, his father's sister. She bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years and then died. 21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri. 22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon. She bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the clan ancestors of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, married one of the daughters of Putiel. She bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the fathers' houses among the Levites, according to their clans.
26 These two men were the Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, "Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt, by their hosts." 27 Aaron and Moses spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt,in order to bring out the people of Israel from Egypt. These were the same Moses and Aaron.
28 When Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 he said to him, "I am Yahweh. Say to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything that I will tell you." 30 But Moses said to Yahweh, "I am not good at speaking, so why will Pharaoh listen to me?"
1 Yahweh said to Moses, "See, I have made you like a god to Pharaoh. Aaron your brother will be your prophet. 2 You will say everything that I command you to say. Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh so that he will let the people of Israel go from his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and I will display many signs of my power, many wonders, in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will put my hand on Egypt and bring out my hosts, my people, the people of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I reach out with my hand on Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them." 6 Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as Yahweh commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, 9 "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Do a miracle,' then you will say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, so that it may become a snake.'" 10 Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and they did just as Yahweh had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake. 11 Then Pharaoh also called for his Egyptian wise men and sorcerers. They did the same thing by their magic. 12 Each man threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their snakes. 13 Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen, just as Yahweh had foretold.
14 Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hard, and he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Stand on the riverbank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that had turned into a snake. 16 Say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, "Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. Until now you have not listened." 17 Yahweh says this: "By this you will know that I am Yahweh. I am going to strike the water of the Nile River with the staff that is in my hand, and the river will be turned to blood. 18 The fish that are in the river will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink water from the river."'" 19 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and reach out with your hand over the waters of Egypt, and over their rivers, streams, pools, and all their ponds, so that their water may become blood. Do this so that there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in containers of wood and stone.'"
20 Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh commanded. Aaron raised the staff and struck the water in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants. All the water in the river turned to blood. 21 The fish in the river died, and the river began to stink. The Egyptians could not drink water from the river, and the blood was everywhere in the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their magic. So Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Yahweh had said would happen. 23 Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not even pay attention to this. 24 All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink, but they could not drink the water of the river itself. 25 Seven days passed after Yahweh had attacked the river.
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Yahweh says this: "Let my people go so that they may worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will afflict all your country with frogs. 3 The river will swarm with frogs. They will come up and go into your house, your bedroom, and your bed. They will go into your servants' houses. They will go onto your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs will attack you, your people, and all your servants."'" 5 Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Reach out with your hand and your staff over the rivers, the streams, and the pools, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.'" 6 Aaron reached out with his hand over Egypt's waters, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same with their magic; they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt.
8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh for him to take away the frogs from me and my people. Then I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to him." 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, "Honor yourself over me. When should I pray for you, your servants, and your people, so that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and stay only in the river?" 10 Pharaoh said, "Tomorrow." Moses said, "Let it be as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh, our God. 11 The frogs will go from you, your houses, your servants, and your people. They will stay only in the river." 12 Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. Then Moses cried out to Yahweh concerning the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 Yahweh did as Moses asked: The frogs died in the houses, courts, and fields. 14 The people gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Yahweh had said that he would do.
16 Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Reach out with your staff and strike the dust on the ground, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.'" 17 They did so. When Aaron reached out with his hand and his staff and struck the dust on the ground, gnats came on men and animals. All the dust on the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried with their magic to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on men and animals. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, so he refused to listen to them. It was just as Yahweh had said Pharaoh would do.
20 Yahweh said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and stand in front of Pharaoh as he goes out to the river. Say to him, 'Yahweh says this: "Let my people go so that they may worship me. 21 But if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your servants, and your people, and into your houses. The Egyptians' houses will be full of swarms of flies, and even the ground on which they stand will be full of flies. 22 But on that day I will set the land of Goshen apart, the land in which my people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there. This will happen so that you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of this land. 23 I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign of my power will take place tomorrow."'" 24 Yahweh did so, and thick swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's house and into his servants' houses. Throughout the whole land of Egypt, the land was ruined because of the swarms of flies.
25 Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in our own land." 26 Moses said, "It is not right for us to do so, for the sacrifices we make to Yahweh our God are something disgusting to the Egyptians. If we make sacrifices right before their eyes that are disgusting to the Egyptians, will they not stone us? 27 No, it is a three days' journey into the wilderness that we must make, in order to sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he commands us." 28 Pharaoh said, "I will allow you to go and sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness. Only you must not go very far away. Pray for me." 29 Moses said, "As soon as I go out from you, I will pray to Yahweh that the swarms of flies may leave you, Pharaoh, and your servants and people tomorrow. But you must not deal deceitfully any more by not letting our people go to sacrifice to Yahweh." 30 Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. 31 Yahweh did as Moses asked; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, his servants, and his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says this: "Let my people go so that they may worship me." 2 But if you refuse to let them go, if you still keep them back, 3 then Yahweh's hand will bring a terrible plague on your livestock that are in the field—the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. 4 But Yahweh will set the livestock of Israel apart from the livestock of Egypt, so that no animal that belongs to the people of Israel will die. 5 Yahweh has fixed a time; he has said, "It is tomorrow that I will do this thing in the land."'" 6 Yahweh did this the next day: All the cattle of Egypt died, but none of the people of Israel's animals died, not one animal. 7 Pharaoh investigated, and, behold, not even one livestock of the people of Israel died. But his heart was stubborn, so he did not let the people go.
8 Then Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take some handfuls of ashes from a kiln. You, Moses, must throw the ashes up into the air while Pharaoh is watching. 9 They will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt. They will cause blisters and sores to break out on people and animals throughout all the land of Egypt." 10 So Moses and Aaron took ashes from a kiln and stood in front of Pharaoh. Then Moses threw the ashes up into the air. The ashes caused blisters and sores to break out on men and animals. 11 The magicians could not resist Moses because of the blisters, because the blisters were on them and on all the other Egyptians. 12 Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, so Pharaoh did not listen to Moses and Aaron. This was just as Yahweh had said to Moses that Pharaoh would do. 13 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, stand in front of Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says this: "Let my people go so that they may worship me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, on your servants and your people. I will do this so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 By now I could have reached out with my hand and attacked you and your people with plague, and you would have been eradicated from the land. 16 But it was for this reason I allowed you to survive: In order to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth. 17 You are still lifting yourself up against my people by not letting them go. 18 Listen! Tomorrow about this time I will bring a very strong hail storm, such as has not been seen in Egypt since the day it was founded until now. 19 Now then, send men and gather your livestock and everything you have in the fields to a safe place. Every man and animal that is in the field and is not brought home—the hail will come down on them, and they will die."'" 20 Then those of Pharaoh's servants who feared Yahweh's message hurried to bring their slaves and livestock into the houses. 21 But those who did not take Yahweh's message seriously left their slaves and livestock in the fields.
22 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand toward the sky so that there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, on men and animals, and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt." 23 Moses reached out with his staff toward the sky, and Yahweh sent thunder, hail, and lightning to the ground. He also rained hail on the land of Egypt. 24 So there were hail and lightning mixed with hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 Throughout all the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the fields, both people and animals. It struck every plant in the fields and broke every tree. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel lived, was there no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh sent men to summon Moses and Aaron. He said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28 Pray to Yahweh, because the mighty thunderbolts and hail are too much. I will let you go, and you will stay here no longer." 29 Moses said to him, "As soon as I leave the city, I will spread my hands out to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and there will not be any more hail. In this way you will know that the earth belongs to Yahweh. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet really honor Yahweh God." 31 Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was maturing in the ear, and the flax was in bloom. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not harmed because they were later crops. 33 When Moses had left Pharaoh and the city, he spread out his hands to Yahweh; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain came down no more. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, together with his servants. 35 The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and so he did not let the people of Israel go, just as Yahweh had spoken by the hand of Moses.
1 Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants. I have done this to show these signs of my power among them. 2 I have also done this so that you may tell your children and grandchildren the things I have done, how I have harshly treated Egypt, and how I have given various signs of my power among them. In this way you will know that I am Yahweh." 3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says this: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go so that they may worship me. 4 But if you refuse to let my people go, listen, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your land. 5 They will cover the surface of the ground so that no one will be able to see the earth. They will eat the remains of whatever escaped from the hail. They will also eat every tree that grows for you in the fields. 6 They will fill your houses, those of all your servants, and those of all the Egyptians—something neither your father nor your grandfather ever saw, nothing ever seen since the day that they were on the earth to this present day.'" Then Moses left and went out from Pharaoh. 7 Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people of Israel go so that they may worship Yahweh their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?" 8 Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, who said to them, "Go worship Yahweh your God. But what people will go?" 9 Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and our daughters. We will go with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a festival for Yahweh." 10 Pharaoh said to them, "May Yahweh indeed be with you, if I ever let you go and your little ones go. Look, you have some evil in mind. 11 No! Go, just the men among you, and worship Yahweh, for that is what you want." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. 12 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand over the land of Egypt to the locusts, that they may attack the land of Egypt and eat every plant in it, everything that the hail has left." 13 Moses reached out with his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh brought an east wind over the land all that day and night. When it was morning, the east wind had brought the locusts. 14 The locusts went through all the land of Egypt and infested all parts of it. Never before had there been such a swarm of locusts in the land, and nothing like this will come after it. 15 They covered the surface of the whole land so that it was darkened. They ate every plant in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Throughout all the land of Egypt, no living green plant remained, nor any tree or plant in the fields. 16 Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. 17 Now then, forgive my sin this time, and pray to Yahweh your God that he will take this death away from me." 18 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. 19 Yahweh brought a very strong west wind that picked up the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Reeds; not a single locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. 20 But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh did not let the people of Israel go.
21 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness that may be felt." 22 Moses reached out with his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else; no one left his home for three days. However, all the people of Israel had light in the place where they lived. 24 Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go worship Yahweh. Even your little ones may go with you, but your flocks and herds must remain behind." 25 But Moses said, "Allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings so that we may present them to Yahweh our God. 26 Our cattle must also go with us; not a hoof of them may be left behind, for we must take them to worship Yahweh our God. For we do not know with what we must worship Yahweh until we arrive there." 27 But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 Pharaoh said to Moses, "Go from me! Be careful about one thing, that you do not see me again, for on the day you see my face, you will die." 29 Moses said, "You yourself have spoken. I will not see your face again."
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "There is still one more plague that I will bring on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he finally lets you go, he will drive you away completely. 2 Instruct the people that every man and woman is to ask of his or her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold." 3 Now Yahweh had made the Egyptians eager to please the Israelites. Moreover, the man Moses was very impressive in the sight of Pharaoh's servants and the people of Egypt.
4 Moses said, "Yahweh says this: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 All the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill grinding it, and to all the firstborn of the livestock. 6 Then there will be a great outcry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as has never been nor ever will be again. 7 But not even a dog will bark against any of the people of Israel, against either man or animal. In this way you will know that I am making a distinction between the Egyptians and the people of Israel.' 8 All these servants of yours, Pharaoh, will come down to me and bow down to me. They will say, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you!' After that I will go out." Then he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.
9 Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you. This is so that I will do many amazing things in the land of Egypt." 10 Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh. But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
1 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt. He said, 2 "For you, this month will be the start of months, the first month of the year to you. 3 Tell the assembly of Israel, 'On the tenth day of this month they must each take a lamb or young goat for themselves, each family doing this, a lamb for each household. 4 If the household is too small for a lamb, the man and his next door neighbor are to take lamb or young goat meat that will be enough for the number of the people. It should be enough for everyone to eat, so they must take enough meat to feed them all. 5 Your lamb or young goat must be without blemish, a one-year-old male. You may take one of the sheep or goats. 6 You must keep it safe until the fourteenth day of that month. Then the whole assembly of Israel must kill these animals at twilight. 7 You must take some of the blood and put it on the two side doorposts and on the tops of the doorframes of the houses in which you will eat the meat. 8 You must eat the meat that night, after first roasting it over a fire. Eat it with bread made without yeast, along with bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat it raw or boiled in water, but roast it over fire with its head, legs, and inner parts. 10 You must not let any of it be left over until morning. You must burn whatever is left over in the morning. 11 This is how you must eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You must eat it hurriedly. It is Yahweh's Passover. 12 Yahweh says this: I will go through the land of Egypt in that night and strike down all the firstborn of man and animal in the land of Egypt. I will do acts of judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. 13 The blood will be a sign on your houses for my coming to you. When I see the blood, I will pass over you when I attack the land of Egypt. This plague will not come on you and destroy you. 14 This day will become a memorial day for you, which you must observe as a festival to Yahweh; for your generations—a statute that you must keep as a festival forever.
15 You will eat bread without yeast during seven days. On the first day you will remove the yeast from your houses. Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there will be an assembly that is set apart to me, and on the seventh day there will be another such gathering. No work will be done on these days, except the cooking for everyone to eat. That must be the only work that may be done by you. 17 You must observe this Festival of Unleavened Bread because it was on this day that I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. So you must observe this day throughout your people's generations as a statute forever. 18 You must eat unleavened bread from twilight of the fourteenth day in the first month of the year until twilight of the twenty-first day of the month. 19 During these seven days, no yeast must be found in your houses. Whoever eats bread made with yeast must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether that person is a foreigner or someone born in your land. 20 You must eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat bread made without yeast.'"
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and select lambs or kids that will be enough to feed your families and kill the Passover lamb. 22 Then take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that will be in a basin. Apply the blood in the basin to the top of the doorframe and the two doorposts. None of you is to go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For Yahweh will pass through to attack the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top of the doorframe and on the two doorposts, he will pass over your door and not permit the destroyer to come into your houses to attack you. 24 You must observe this event. This will always be a law for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that Yahweh will give you, just as he has promised to do, you must observe this act of worship. 26 When your children ask you, 'What does this act of worship mean?' 27 then you must say, 'It is the sacrifice of Yahweh's Passover, because Yahweh passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt when he attacked the Egyptians. He set our households free.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped Yahweh. 28 The people of Israel went and did exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron.
29 It happened at midnight that Yahweh attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the person in the dungeon and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 Pharaoh got up in the night—he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians. There was a loud outcry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not someone dead. 31 Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, "Get up, get out from among my people, you and the people of Israel. Go, worship Yahweh, as you have said you wanted to do. 32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and also bless me." 33 The Egyptians were in a great hurry to send them out of the land, for they said, "We will all die." 34 So the people took their dough without adding any yeast. Their kneading bowls were already tied up in their clothes and on their shoulders. 35 Now the people of Israel did as Moses told them. They asked the Egyptians for articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 Yahweh made the Egyptians eager to please the Israelites. So the Egyptians gave them whatever they asked for. In this way, the Israelites plundered the Egyptians.
37 The people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Sukkoth. They numbered about 600,000 men on foot, in addition to the little ones. 38 A mixed multitude also went with them, together with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. 39 They baked bread without yeast in the dough that they brought from Egypt. It was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay to prepare food. 40 The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. 41 At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all of Yahweh's armed groups went out from the land of Egypt. 42 This was a night to stay awake, for Yahweh to bring them out from the land of Egypt. This was Yahweh's night to be observed by all the people of Israel throughout their people's generations.
43 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, "Here is the rule for the Passover: No foreigner may share in eating it. 44 However, every Israelite's slave, bought with money, may eat it after you have circumcised him. 45 Foreigners and hired servants must not eat any of the food. 46 The food must be eaten in one house. You must not carry any of the meat out of the house, and you must not break any bone of it. 47 All the community of Israel must observe the festival. 48 If a foreigner lives with you and wants to observe the Passover to Yahweh, all his male relatives must be circumcised. Then he may come and observe it. He will become like the people who were born in the land. However, no uncircumcised person may eat any of the food. 49 This same law will apply to both the native born and to the foreigner who lives among you."
50 So all the people of Israel did exactly as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 It came about that very day that Yahweh brought Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armed groups.
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Set apart to me every firstborn male, the first issue of every womb among the people of Israel, whether man or animal. He is mine."
3 Moses said to the people, "Call this day to mind, the day on which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by Yahweh's strong hand he brought you out from this place. No bread with yeast may be eaten. 4 You are going out of Egypt on this day, in the month of Aviv. 5 When Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and the Jebusites, the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—then you must observe this act of worship in this month. 6 For seven days you must eat bread without yeast; on the seventh day there will be a festival to honor Yahweh. 7 Bread without yeast must be eaten throughout the seven days; no bread with yeast may be seen among you. No yeast may be seen with you within any of your borders. 8 On that day you are to say to your children, 'This is because of what Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 This will be a reminder for you on your hand, and a reminder on your forehead. This is so the law of Yahweh may be in your mouth, for with a strong hand Yahweh brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore you must keep this law at its appointed time from year to year.
11 When Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and to your ancestors to do, and when he gives the land to you, 12 you must set apart to Yahweh the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn offspring of your livestock that are males, will belong to Yahweh. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb. If you do not buy it back, then you must break its neck. But every firstborn of your sons you must redeem. 14 When your son asks you later, 'What does this mean?' then you are to tell him, 'It was by a strong hand that Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Yahweh killed every firstborn in Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. That is why I sacrifice to Yahweh all the first male issue of the womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.' 16 This will become a reminder on your hands, and a reminder on your forehead, for it was by a strong hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt."
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that land was nearby. For God said, "Perhaps the people will change their minds when they experience war and will then return to Egypt." 18 So God led the people around through the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds. The people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt armed for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear and said, "God will surely rescue you, and you must carry away my bones with you." 20 The Israelites journeyed from Sukkoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way. By night he went in a pillar of fire to give them light. In this way they could travel by day and by night. 22 Yahweh did not take away from before the people the daytime pillar of cloud or the nighttime pillar of fire.
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Say to the people of Israel that they should turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. You are to camp by the sea opposite Pi Hahiroth. 3 Pharaoh will say about the people of Israel, 'They are wandering confused in the land. The wilderness has closed in on them.' 4 I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. I will get honor because of Pharaoh and all his army. The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh." So the Israelites camped as they were instructed. 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the Israelites had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his servants turned against the people. They said, "What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us." 6 Then Pharaoh got his chariots ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers on all of them. 8 Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and the king pursued the people of Israel. Now the people of Israel had gone away in triumph. 9 But the Egyptians pursued them, together with all his horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army. They overtook the Israelites camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 When Pharaoh came close, the people of Israel looked up and were surprised. The Egyptians were marching after them, and they were terrified. The people of Israel cried out to Yahweh. 11 They said to Moses, "Is it because there were no graves in Egypt, that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us like this, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not what we told you in Egypt? We said to you, 'Leave us alone, so we can work for the Egyptians.' It would have been better for us to work for them than to die in the wilderness." 13 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the rescue that Yahweh will provide for you today. For you will never see again the Egyptians whom you see today. 14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you will only have to stand still." 15 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Why are you, Moses, continuing to call out to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, reach out with your hand over the sea and divide it in two, so that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 Be aware that I will harden the Egyptians' hearts so they will go after them. I will get honor because of Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I have gotten honor because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen." 19 The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from before them and went to stand behind them. 20 The cloud came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. It was a dark cloud to the Egyptians, but it lit the night for the Israelites, so one side did not come near the other all night.
21 Moses reached out with his hand over the sea. Yahweh drove the sea back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea into dry land. In this way the waters were divided. 22 The people of Israel went into the middle of the sea on dry ground. The waters formed a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued them. They went after them into the middle of the sea—all Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and horsemen. 24 But at the morning watch, Yahweh looked down on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud. He threw the Egyptians into confusion. 25 Their chariot wheels were clogged, and the horsemen drove with difficulty. So the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from Israel, for Yahweh is fighting for them against us."
26 Yahweh said to Moses, "Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back onto the Egyptians, their chariots, and their horsemen." 27 So Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and it returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. The Egyptians fled into the sea, and Yahweh drove the Egyptians into the middle of it. 28 The waters came back and covered Pharaoh's chariots, horsemen, and his entire army that had followed the chariots into the sea. No one survived. 29 However, the people of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea. The waters were a wall for them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw dead Egyptians on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that Yahweh used against the Egyptians, the people feared Yahweh, and they trusted Yahweh and his servant Moses.
1 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to Yahweh. They sang,
"I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 Yahweh is my strength and song,
and he has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 Yahweh is a warrior;
Yahweh is his name.
4 He has thrown Pharaoh's chariots and army into the sea.
Pharaoh's chosen officers were drowned in the Sea of Reeds.
5 The depths covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Yahweh, is glorious in power;
your right hand, Yahweh, has shattered the enemy.
7 In great majesty you overthrew those who rose up against you.
You sent out your wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up;
the flowing waters stood upright in a heap;
the deep water was congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will share out the plunder;
my desire will be satisfied on them;
I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.'
10 But you blew with your wind, and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
honored in praises, doing miracles?
12 You reached out with your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 In your covenant loyalty you have led the people you have rescued.
In your strength you have led them to the holy place where you live.
14 The peoples will hear, and they will tremble;
terror will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will fear;
the soldiers of Moab will shake;
all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
16 Terror and dread will fall on them.
Because of your arm's power, they will become as still as a stone
until your people pass by, Yahweh—
until the people you have rescued pass by.
17 You will bring them and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance,
the place, Yahweh, that you have made to live in,
the sanctuary, our Lord, that your hands have built.
18 Yahweh will reign forever and ever."
19 For Pharaoh's horses went with his chariots and horsemen into the sea. Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea on them. But the people of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea. 20 Miriam the prophetess, sister of Aaron, picked up a tambourine, and all the women went out with tambourines, dancing along with her. 21 Miriam sang to them:
"Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."
22 Then Moses led Israel onward from the Sea of Reeds. They went out into the wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days into the wilderness and found no water. 23 Then they came to Marah, but they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. So they named that place Marah. 24 So the people complained to Moses and said, "What can we drink?" 25 Moses cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a tree. Moses threw it into the water, and the water became sweet to drink. It was there that Yahweh gave them a strict law, and it was there that he tested them. 26 He said, "If you carefully listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, and do what is right in his eyes, and if you give ear to his commands and obey all his laws—I will put on you none of the diseases that I put on the Egyptians, for I am Yahweh who heals you." 27 Then the people came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped there by the water.
1 The people journeyed on from Elim, and all the community of people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 The whole community of the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The people of Israel said to them, "If only we had died by Yahweh's hand in the land of Egypt when we were sitting by the pots of meat and were eating bread to the full. For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill our whole community with hunger."
4 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day's portion every day so that I may test them to see whether or not they will walk in my law. 5 It will come about on the sixth day, that they will gather twice as much as what they gathered every day before, and they will cook what they bring in." 6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, "In the evening you will know that it is Yahweh who has brought you out from the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see Yahweh's glory, for he hears your complaining against him. Who are we for you to complain against us?" 8 Moses also said, "You will know this when Yahweh gives you meat in the evening and bread in the morning to the full—for he has heard the complaints that you speak against him. Who are Aaron and I? Your complaints are not against us; they are against Yahweh." 9 Moses said to Aaron, "Say to all the community of the people of Israel, 'Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your complaints.'" 10 It came about, as Aaron spoke to the whole community of the people of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, Yahweh's glory appeared in the cloud. 11 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12 "I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel. Speak to them and say, 'In the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.'"
13 It came about in the evening that quails came up and covered the camp. In the morning the dew lay round about the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, there on the surface of the wilderness were thin flakes like frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "What is it?" They did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat. 16 This is the command that Yahweh has given: 'You must gather, each one of you, the amount you need to eat, an omer for each person of the number of your people. This is how you will gather it: Gather enough to eat for every person who lives in your tent.'" 17 The people of Israel did so. Some gathered more, some gathered less. 18 When they measured it with an omer measure, those who had gathered much had nothing left over, and those who had gathered little had no lack. Each person gathered enough to meet their need. 19 Then Moses said to them, "No one must leave any of it until morning." 20 However, they did not listen to Moses. Some of them left some of it until morning, but it bred worms and became foul. Then Moses became angry with them. 21 They gathered it morning by morning. Each person gathered enough to eat for that day. When the sun became hot, it melted. 22 It came about that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told this to Moses. 23 He said to them, "This is what Yahweh has said: 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath in Yahweh's honor. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. All that remains over, set it aside for yourselves until morning.'" 24 So they set it aside until morning, as Moses had instructed. It did not become foul, nor was there any worm in it. 25 Moses said, "Eat that food today, for today is a day reserved as a Sabbath to honor Yahweh. Today you will not find it in the fields. 26 You will gather it during six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. On the Sabbath there will be no manna." 27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather manna, but they found none. 28 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, Yahweh has given you the Sabbath. So on the sixth day he is giving you bread for two days. Each of you must stay in his own place; no one must go out from his place on the seventh day." 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called that food "manna." It was white like coriander seed, and its taste was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, "This is what Yahweh has commanded: 'Let an omer of manna be kept throughout your people's generations so that your descendants might see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, after I brought you out from the land of Egypt.'" 33 Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot and put an omer of manna into it. Preserve it before Yahweh to be kept throughout the people's generations." 34 As Yahweh commanded Moses, Aaron stored it beside the covenant decrees in the ark. 35 The people of Israel ate manna forty years until they came to inhabited land. They ate it until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.
1 The whole community of the people of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, following Yahweh's instructions. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So the people blamed Moses for their situation and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test Yahweh?" 3 The people were very thirsty, and they complained against Moses. They said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" 4 Then Moses cried out to Yahweh, "What should I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5 Yahweh said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take with you some elders of Israel. Take with you the staff with which you struck the river, and go. 6 I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you will strike the rock. Water will come out of it for the people to drink." Then Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He named that place Massah and Meribah because the people of Israel were quarreling and because they had tested the Lord by saying, "Is Yahweh among us or not?"
8 Then an army of the Amalek people came and attacked Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some men and go out. Fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." 10 So Joshua fought Amalek as Moses had instructed, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 While Moses was holding his hands up, Israel was winning; when he let his hands rest, Amalek would begin to win. 12 When Moses' hands became heavy, Aaron and Hur took a stone and put it under him for him to sit on. At the same time, Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one person on one side of him, and the other person on the other side. So Moses' hands were held steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua laid waste to Amalek and his people with the sword. 14 Yahweh said to Moses, "Write this in a book and read it in Joshua's hearing, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under the skies." 15 Then Moses built an altar and he called it "Yahweh is my banner." 16 He said, "For a hand was lifted up to the throne of Yahweh—that Yahweh will wage war with Amalek from generation to generation."
1 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people. He heard that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, 3 and her two sons; the name of the one son was Gershom, for Moses had said, "I have been a foreigner in a foreign land." 4 The name of the other was Eliezer, for Moses had said, "My ancestor's God was my help. He rescued me from Pharaoh's sword." 5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with Moses' sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God. 6 He said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons." 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. They asked about each other's welfare and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, about all the hardships that had come to them along the way, and how Yahweh had rescued them. 9 Jethro rejoiced over all the good that Yahweh had done for Israel, in that he had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 Jethro said, "May Yahweh be praised, for he has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods, because when the Egyptians treated the Israelites arrogantly, God rescued his people." 12 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat a meal before God with Moses' father-in-law.
13 On the next day Moses sat down to judge the people. The people stood around him from morning until evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing with the people? Why is it that you sit alone and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?" 15 Moses said to his father-in-law, "The people come to me to ask for God's direction. 16 When they have a dispute, they come to me. I decide between one person and another, and I teach them God's statutes and laws." 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not very good. 18 You will surely wear yourselves out, you and the people who are with you. This burden is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it by yourself. 19 Listen to me. I will give you advice, and God will be with you, because you are the people's representative to God, and you bring their disputes to him. 20 You must teach them his statutes and laws. You must show them the way to walk and the work to do. 21 Furthermore, you must choose capable men from all the people, men who honor God, men of truth who hate unjust gain. You must put them over people, to be leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and of tens. 22 They will judge the people in all routine cases, but the difficult cases they will bring to you. As for all the small cases, they can judge those themselves. In that way it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you. 23 If you do this, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure, and the entire people will be able to go home in peace." 24 So Moses listened to his father-in-law's words and did everything that he had said. 25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26 They judged the people in normal circumstances. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but they themselves judged all the small cases. 27 Then Moses let his father-in-law leave, and Jethro went back into his own land.
1 In the third month after the people of Israel had gone out from the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai. 2 After they left Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai, they camped in the wilderness in front of the mountain. 3 Moses went up to God. Yahweh called to him from the mountain and said, "You must tell the house of Jacob, the people of Israel: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now then, if you obediently listen to my voice and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession from among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. 6 You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for me. These are the words that you must speak to the people of Israel."
7 So Moses came and summoned the elders of the people. He set before them all these words that Yahweh had commanded him. 8 All the people answered together and said, "We will do everything that Yahweh has said." Then Moses came to report the people's words to Yahweh. 9 Yahweh said to Moses, "I will come to you in a thick cloud so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe you forever." Then Moses told the people's words to Yahweh. 10 Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to the people. Today and tomorrow you must set them apart to me, and make them wash their garments. 11 Be ready for the third day, for on the third day Yahweh will come down to Mount Sinai. 12 You must set boundaries all around the mountain for the people. Say to them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death.' 13 No one's hand may touch him. Rather, he must certainly be stoned or shot. Whether an animal or a man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they may come up to the mountain." 14 Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people. He set apart the people to Yahweh and they washed their garments. 15 He said to the people, "Be ready on the third day; do not go near your wives."
16 On the third day, when it was morning, there were thunder and lightning bolts and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud ram's horn. All the people in the camp trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because Yahweh descended on it in fire and smoke. The smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 When the sound of the ram's horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in a voice. 20 Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, and he summoned Moses to the top. So Moses went up. 21 Yahweh said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people; otherwise they might break out to Yahweh to look, and many of them might perish. 22 Let the priests also who come near to me set themselves apart—prepare themselves for my coming—so that I do not break out against them." 23 Moses said to Yahweh, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you commanded us: 'Set boundaries around the mountain and set it apart to Yahweh.'" 24 Yahweh said to him, "Go down and bring up Aaron with you, but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, or he will break out against them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
1 God spoke all these words:
2 "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 You must have no other gods before me.
4 You must not make for yourself a carved figure nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God. I punish the ancestors' wickedness by bringing punishment on the descendants, to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. 6 But I show steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 You must not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for I will not hold guiltless anyone who takes my name in vain.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart to me. 9 You must labor and do all your work for six days. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God. On it you must not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.
12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
13 You must not murder anyone.
14 You must not commit adultery.
15 You must not steal from anyone.
16 You must not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 You must not covet your neighbor's house; you must not covet your neighbor's wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18 All the people saw the thundering and the lightning, and heard the sound of the ram's horn, and saw the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled and stood far off. 19 They said to Moses, "Speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." 20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you so that the honor of him may be in you, and so that you do not sin." 21 So the people stood far off, and Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22 Yahweh said to Moses, "This is what you must tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You will not make for yourselves other gods alongside me, gods of silver or gods of gold. 24 You must make an earthen altar for me, and you must sacrifice on it your burnt offerings, fellowship offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you must not build it of cut stones, for if you use your tools on it, you will have defiled it. 26 You must not go up to my altar on steps, so that your nakedness is not exposed.'"
1 "Now these are the decrees that you must set before them:
2 'If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve for six years, and in the seventh year he will go free without paying anything. 3 If he came by himself, he must go free by himself; if he is married, then his wife must go free with him. 4 If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he must go free by himself. 5 But if the servant plainly says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free," 6 then his master must bring him to God. The master must bring him to a door or doorpost, and his master must bore his ear through with an awl. Then the servant will serve him for life.
7 If a man sells his daughter as a female servant, she must not go free as the male servants do. 8 If she does not please her master, who has selected her for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people. He has no such right, since he has treated her deceitfully. 9 If her master selects her as a wife for his son, he must treat her the same as if she were his daughter. 10 If he takes another wife for himself, he must not diminish her food, clothing, or her marital rights. 11 But if he does not provide these three things for her, then she can go free without paying any money.
12 Whoever strikes a man so that he dies, that person must surely be put to death. 13 If the man did not lie in wait for him, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place to where he can flee. 14 If a man arrogantly attacks his neighbor and kills him cleverly, then you must take him, even if he is at God's altar, so that he may die.
15 Whoever hits his father or mother must surely be put to death.
16 Whoever kidnaps a person—whether the kidnapper sells him, or that person is found in his hand—that kidnapper must be put to death.
17 Whoever curses his father or his mother must surely be put to death.
18 If men fight and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and that person does not die, but is confined to his bed; 19 then if he recovers and is able to walk about using his staff, the man who struck him must pay for the loss of his time; he must also see that he is completely healed. But that man is not guilty of murder.
20 If a man hits his male servant or his female servant with a staff, and if the servant dies as a result of the blow, then that man must surely be punished. 21 However, if the servant lives for a day or two, there is to be no vengeance, for he will have suffered the loss of the servant.
22 If men fight together and hurt a pregnant woman so that she miscarries, but there is no other injury to her, then the guilty man must surely be forced to pay a fine as the woman's husband demands it from him, and he must pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is serious injury, then you must give a life for a life, 24 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, 25 a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, or a bruise for a bruise.
26 If a man hits the eye of his male servant or of his female servant and destroys it, then he must let the servant go free in compensation for his eye. 27 If he knocks out a tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.
28 If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its flesh must not be eaten; but the ox's owner must be acquitted of guilt. 29 But if the ox had a habit of goring in the past, and its owner was warned but did not keep it in, and the ox has killed a man or a woman, that ox must be stoned, and its owner also must be put to death. 30 If a ransom is required for his life, he must pay for the redemption of his life whatever he is required to pay. 31 If the ox has gored a man's son or daughter, the ox's owner must do what this decree requires him to do. 32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the ox's owner must pay thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned.
33 If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit must repay the loss. He must give money to the dead animal's owner, and the dead animal will become his.
35 If one man's ox hurts another man's ox so that it dies, then they must sell the live ox and divide its price, and they must also divide the dead ox. 36 But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring in time past, and its owner has not kept it in, he must surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his own.
1 If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, then he must pay five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep. 2 If a thief is found breaking in, and if he is struck so that he dies, in that case no bloodguilt will attach to anyone on his account. 3 But if the sun has risen before he breaks in, bloodguilt will attach to the person who kills him.
A thief must make restitution. If he has nothing, then he must be sold for his theft. 4 If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox, a donkey, or a sheep, he must pay back double.
5 If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets his animal loose, and it grazes in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field and from the best of his own vineyard.
6 If a fire breaks out and spreads in thorns so that stacked grain, or standing grain, or a field is consumed, the one who started the fire must surely make restitution.
7 If a man gives money or goods to his neighbor for safe keeping, and if it is stolen out of the man's house, if the thief is found, that thief must pay double. 8 But if the thief is not found, then the owner of the house must come before the judges to see whether he has put his own hand on his neighbor's property. 9 For every transgression, whether it is an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any other missing thing about which one says, "This belongs to me," the claim of both parties must come before the judges. The man whom the judges find guilty must pay double to his neighbor.
10 If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and if it dies or is hurt or is carried away without anyone seeing it, 11 an oath to Yahweh must be taken by them both, as to whether or not one person has put his hand on his neighbor's property. The owner must accept this, and the other will make no restitution. 12 But if it was stolen from him, the other must make restitution to the owner for it. 13 If an animal was torn in pieces, let the other man bring the animal as evidence. He will not have to pay for what was torn.
14 If a man borrows any animal from his neighbor and the animal is injured or dies without the owner being with it, the other man must surely make restitution. 15 But if the owner was with it, the other man will not have to pay; if the animal was hired, it will be paid for by its hiring fee.
16 If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and if he lies with her, he must surely make her his wife by paying the bride wealth required for this. 17 If her father completely refuses to give her to him, he must pay money equal to the bride wealth of virgins.
18 You must not allow a sorceress to live.
19 Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.
20 Whoever sacrifices to any god except to Yahweh must be completely destroyed. 21 You must not wrong a foreigner or oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 22 You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you afflict them at all, and if they call out to me, I will surely hear their outcry. 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows, and your children will become fatherless.
25 If you lend money to any of my people among you who are poor, you must not be like a moneylender to him or charge him interest. 26 If you take your neighbor's garment in pledge, you must return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering; it is his garment for his body. What else can he lie down in? When he calls out to me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.
28 You must not blaspheme me, God, nor curse a ruler of your people. 29 You must not hold back offerings from your harvest or your winepresses. You must give to me the firstborn of your sons. 30 You must also do the same with your oxen and your sheep. For seven days they may remain with their mothers, but on the eighth day you must give them to me. 31 You will be people that are set apart for me. So you must not eat any meat that was torn by animals in the field. Instead, you must throw it to the dogs.
1 You must not give a false report about anyone. Do not join with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. 2 You must not follow a crowd to do evil, and you must not bear witness in a dispute while siding with the crowd in order to pervert justice. 3 You must not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you must bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen to the ground under its load, you must not leave that person. You must surely help him with his donkey.
6 Do not thrust aside justice for your poor in his lawsuit. 7 Do not join others in making false accusations, and do not kill the innocent or righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. 8 Never take a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see, and perverts honest people's words. 9 You must not oppress a foreigner, since you know the life of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
10 For six years you will sow seed on your land and gather in its produce. 11 But in the seventh year you will let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat. What they leave, the wild animals will eat. You will do the same with your vineyards and olive orchards. 12 During six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you must rest. Do this so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and so that your female slave's son and any foreigner may rest and be refreshed. 13 Pay attention to everything that I have said to you. Do not mention the names of other gods, nor let their names be heard from your mouth.
14 You must travel to hold a festival for me three times every year. 15 You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you will eat unleavened bread for seven days. At that time, you will appear before me in the month of Aviv, which is fixed for this purpose. It was in this month that you came out from Egypt. But you must not appear before me empty-handed. 16 You must observe the Festival of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors when you sowed seed in the fields. Also you must observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your produce from the fields. 17 All your males must appear before the Lord Yahweh three times every year.
18 You must not offer the blood from sacrifices made to me with bread containing yeast. The fat from the sacrifices at my festivals must not remain all night until the morning. 19 You must bring the choicest firstfruits from your land into my house, the house of Yahweh your God. You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
20 I am going to send an angel before you to guard you on the way, and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and obey him. Do not provoke him, for he will not pardon your transgressions. My name is on him. 22 If you indeed obey his voice and do everything that I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. I will destroy them. 24 You must not bow down to their gods, worship them, or do as they do, but you must completely break them down, and you must smash their stone pillars in pieces. 25 You must worship Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and water. I will remove sickness from among you. 26 No woman will be barren or will miscarry her young in your land. I will give you long lives. 27 I will send my terror before you, and will throw into confusion all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 I will send hornets before you that will drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, or the land would become desolate, and the wild animals would become too many for you. 30 Instead, I will drive them out little by little from before you until you become fruitful and inherit the land. 31 I will fix your borders from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hands. You will drive them out before you. 32 You must not make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33 They must not live in your land, or they would make you sin against me. If you worship their gods, this will surely become a trap for you.'"
1 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Come up to me—you, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel's elders, and worship me at a distance. 2 Moses alone may come near to me. The others must not come near, nor may the people come up with him." 3 Moses went and told the people all of Yahweh's words and decrees. All the people answered with one voice and said, "We will do all the words that Yahweh has said." 4 Then Moses wrote down all of Yahweh's words. Early in the morning, Moses built an altar at the foot of the mountain and arranged twelve stone pillars, so that the stones would represent the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent some young men from among the people of Israel to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings of oxen to Yahweh. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it into basins; he sprinkled the other half onto the altar. 7 He took the book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. They said, "We will do all that Yahweh has spoken. We will be obedient." 8 Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it onto the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you by giving you this promise with all these words."
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel's elders went up the mountain. 10 They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there was a pavement made of sapphire stone, as clear as the sky itself. 11 God did not lay a hand on the leaders of the people of Israel. They saw God, and they ate and drank.
12 Yahweh said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay there. I will give you the tablets of stone and the law and commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them." 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God. 14 Moses had said to the elders, "Stay here and wait for us until we come to you. Aaron and Hur are with you. If anyone has a dispute, let him go to them." 15 So Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. 16 Yahweh's glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 The appearance of Yahweh's glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. He was up the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, 2 "Tell the people of Israel to take an offering for me from every person who is motivated by a willing heart. You must receive these offerings for me. 3 These are the offerings that you must receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats' hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and fine leather hides; acacia wood; 6 oil for the sanctuary lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; 7 onyx stones and other precious stones to be set for the ephod and breastpiece. 8 Let them make me a sanctuary so that I may live among them. 9 You must make it exactly as I will show you in the plans for the tabernacle and for all its equipment.
10 They are to make an ark of acacia wood. Its length must be two and a half cubits; its width will be one cubit and a half; and its height will be one cubit and a half. 11 You must cover it inside and out with pure gold, and you must make on it a border of gold around its top. 12 You must cast four rings of gold for it, and put them on the ark's four feet, with two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side. 13 You must make poles of acacia wood and cover them with gold. 14 You must put the poles into the rings on the ark's sides, in order to carry the ark. 15 The poles must remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be taken from it. 16 You must put into the ark the covenant decrees that I will give you. 17 You must make an atonement lid of pure gold. Its length must be two and a half cubits, and its width must be a cubit and a half. 18 You must make two cherubim of hammered gold for the two ends of the atonement lid. 19 Make one cherub for one end of the atonement lid, and the other cherub for the other end. They must be made as one piece with the atonement lid. 20 The cherubim must spread out their wings upward and overshadow the atonement lid with them. The cherubim must face one another and look toward the center of the atonement lid. 21 You must put the atonement lid on top of the ark, and you must put into the ark the covenant decrees that I am giving you. 22 It is at the ark that I will meet with you. I will speak with you from my position above the atonement lid. It will be from between the two cherubim over the ark of the covenant decrees that I will speak to you about all the commands I will give you for the people of Israel.
23 You must make a table of acacia wood. Its length must be two cubits; its width must be one cubit, and its height must be a cubit and a half. 24 You must cover it with pure gold and put a border of gold around the top. 25 You must make a surrounding frame for it one handbreadth wide, with a surrounding border of gold for the frame. 26 You must make for it four rings of gold and attach the rings to the four corners, where the four feet were. 27 The rings must be attached to the frame to provide places for the poles, in order to carry the table. 28 You must make the poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold so that the table may be carried with them. 29 You must make the dishes, spoons, pitchers, and bowls to be used to pour out drink offerings. You must make them of pure gold. 30 You must regularly set the bread of the presence on the table before me.
31 You must make a lampstand of pure hammered gold. The lampstand is to be made with its base and shaft. Its cups, its leafy bases, and its flowers are to be all made of one piece with it. 32 Six branches must extend out from its sides—three branches must extend from one side, and three branches of the lampstand must extend from the other side. 33 The first branch must have three cups made like almond blossoms, with a leafy base and a flower, and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, with a leafy base and a flower. It must be the same for all six branches extending out from the lampstand. 34 On the lampstand itself, the central shaft, there must be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their leafy bases and the flowers. 35 There must be a leafy base under the first pair of branches—made as one piece with it, and a leafy base under the second pair of branches—also made as one piece with it. In the same way there must be a leafy base under the third pair of branches, made as one piece with it. It must be the same for all six branches extending out from the lampstand. 36 Their leafy bases and branches must all be one piece with it, one beaten piece of work of pure gold. 37 You must make the lampstand and its seven lamps, and set up its lamps for them to give light from it. 38 The tongs and their trays must be made of pure gold. 39 Use one talent of pure gold to make the lampstand and its accessories. 40 Be sure to make them after the pattern that you are being shown on the mountain.
1 You must make the tabernacle with ten curtains made from fine linen and blue, purple, and scarlet wool with the designs of cherubim. This will be the work of a very skilled craftsman. 2 The length of each curtain must be twenty-eight cubits, the width four cubits. All the curtains must be of the same size. 3 Five curtains must be joined to each other, and the other five curtains must also be joined to each other. 4 You must make loops of blue along the outer edge of the end curtain of one set. In the same way, you must do the same along the outer edge of the end curtain in the second set. 5 You must make fifty loops on the first curtain, and you must make fifty loops on the end curtain in the second set. Do this so that the loops will be opposite to each other. 6 You must make fifty clasps of gold and join the curtains together with them so that the tabernacle becomes united.
7 You must make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle. You must make eleven of these curtains. 8 The length of each curtain must be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain must be four cubits. Each of the eleven curtains must be of the same size. 9 You must join five curtains to each other and the other six curtains to each other. You must double over the sixth curtain in the front of the tent. 10 You must make fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain of the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain that joins the second set. 11 You must make fifty bronze clasps and put them into the loops. Then you join the tent together so that it may be one piece. 12 The leftover half curtain, that is, the overhanging part remaining from the tent's curtains, must hang at the back of the tabernacle. 13 There must be one cubit of curtain on one side, and one cubit of curtain on the other side—that which is left over of the length of the tent's curtains must hang over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other side, to cover it. 14 You must make for the tabernacle a covering of ram skins dyed red, and another covering of fine leather to go above that.
15 You must make upright frames out of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16 The length of each frame must be ten cubits, and its width must be one and a half cubits. 17 There must be two wooden pegs in each frame for joining the frames to each other. You are to make all the tabernacle's frames in this way. 18 When you make the frames for the tabernacle, you must make twenty frames for the south side. 19 You must make forty silver bases to go under the twenty frames. There must be two bases under the first frame to be its two pedestals, and also two bases under each of the other frames for their two pedestals. 20 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, you must make twenty frames 21 and their forty silver bases. There must be two bases under the first frame, two bases under the next frame, and so on. 22 For the back side of the tabernacle on the west side, you must make six frames. 23 You must make two frames for the back corners of the tabernacle. 24 These frames must be separate at the bottom, but joined at the top to the same ring. It must be this way for both of the back corners. 25 There must be eight frames, together with their silver bases. There must be sixteen bases in all, two bases under the first frame, two bases under the next frame, and so on.
26 You must make crossbars of acacia wood—five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 five crossbars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the frames for the back side of the tabernacle to the west. 28 The crossbar in the center of the frames, that is, halfway up, must reach from end to end. 29 You must cover the frames with gold. You must make their rings of gold, for them to serve as holders for the crossbars, and you must cover the bars with gold. 30 You must set up the tabernacle by following the plan you were shown on the mountain.
31 You must make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine linen, with designs of cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 32 You must hang it on four pillars of acacia wood covered with gold. These pillars must have hooks of gold set on four silver bases. 33 You must hang up the curtain under the clasps, and you must bring in the ark of the covenant decrees. The curtain is to separate the holy place from the most holy place. 34 You must put the atonement lid on the ark of the covenant decrees, which is in the most holy place. 35 You must place the table outside the curtain. You must place the lampstand opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. The table must be on the north side.
36 You must make a screen for the tent entrance. You must make it out of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. 37 For the screen you must make five pillars of acacia and cover them with gold. Their hooks must be of gold, and you must cast five bronze bases for them.
1 You must make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar must be square and three cubits high. 2 You must make extensions of its four corners shaped like ox horns. The horns will be made as one piece with the altar, and you must cover them with bronze. 3 You must make equipment for the altar: pots for ashes, and also shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans. You must make all these utensils with bronze. 4 You must make a grate for the altar, a network of bronze. Make a bronze ring for each of the grate's four corners. 5 You must put the grate under the ledge of the altar, halfway down to the bottom. 6 You must make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you must cover them with bronze. 7 The poles must be put into the rings, and the poles must be on the two sides of the altar, to carry it. 8 You must make the altar hollow, out of planks. You must make it in the way you were shown on the mountain.
9 You must make a courtyard for the tabernacle. There must be hangings on the south side of the courtyard, hangings of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long. 10 The hangings must have twenty posts, with twenty bronze bases. There must also be hooks attached to the posts, as well as silver rods. 11 In the same way, along the north side, there must be hangings one hundred cubits long with twenty posts, twenty bronze bases, hooks attached to the posts, and silver rods. 12 Along the courtyard on the west side there must be a curtain fifty cubits long. There must be ten posts and ten bases. 13 The courtyard must also be fifty cubits long on the east side. 14 The hangings for one side of the entrance must be fifteen cubits long. They must have three posts with three bases. 15 The other side must also have hangings fifteen cubits long. They must have their three posts and three bases. 16 The courtyard gate must be a screen twenty cubits long. The curtain must be made of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. It must have four posts with four bases. 17 All the courtyard posts must have silver rods, silver hooks, and bronze bases. 18 The length of the courtyard must be one hundred cubits, the width fifty cubits, and the height five cubits with fine twined linen hangings all along, and bases of bronze. 19 All the equipment to be used in the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and courtyard must be made of bronze.
20 You must command the people of Israel to bring olive oil, pure and pressed, for the lamps so they may burn continually. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the tabernacle that contains the ark of the covenant decrees, Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning before Yahweh, from evening to morning. This requirement will be a lasting statute throughout the generations of the people of Israel.
1 Call to yourself Aaron your brother and his sons—Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar—from among the people of Israel so that they may serve me as priests. 2 You must make for Aaron, your brother, garments that are set apart to me. These garments will be for his honor and splendor. 3 You must speak to all people who are wise in heart, those whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, so that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him to serve me as my priest. 4 The garments that they must make are a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of woven work, a turban, and a sash. They must make these garments that are set apart to me. They will be for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve me as priests. 5 Craftsmen must use fine linen that is gold, blue, purple, and scarlet.
6 They must make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine-twined linen. It must be the work of a skillful craftsman. 7 It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two upper corners. 8 Its finely-woven waistband must be like the ephod; it must be made of one piece with the ephod, made of fine twined linen that is gold, blue, purple, and scarlet. 9 You must take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel. 10 Six of their names must be on one stone, and six names must be on the other stone, in order of the sons' birth. 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engraving on a signet, you must engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You must mount the stones in settings of gold. 12 You must put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, to be stones to remind Yahweh of Israel's sons. Aaron will carry their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders as a reminder to him. 13 You must make settings of gold 14 and two braided chains of pure gold like cords, and you must attach the chains to the settings.
15 You must make a breastpiece for decision making, the work of a skillful workman, fashioned like the ephod. Make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine linen. 16 It is to be square. You must fold the breastpiece double. It must be one span long and one span wide. 17 You must place in it four rows of precious stones. The first row must have a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet. 18 The second row must have an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 19 The third row must have a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 20 The fourth row must have a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper. They must be mounted in gold settings. 21 The stones must be arranged by the names of the sons of Israel. They must be like the engraving on a signet ring, each name standing for one of the twelve tribes. 22 You must make on the breastpiece chains like cords, braided work of pure gold. 23 You must make two rings of gold for the breastpiece and must attach them to the two ends of the breastpiece. 24 You must attach the two golden chains to the two corners of the breastpiece. 25 You must attach the other ends of the two braided chains to the two settings. Then you must attach those to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at its front. 26 You must make two rings of gold, and you must put them on the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the edge next to the inner border of the ephod. 27 You must make two more gold rings, and you must attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the front of the ephod, close to its seam above the finely-woven waistband of the ephod. 28 They must tie the breastpiece by its rings to the ephod's rings with a blue cord, so that it might be attached just above the ephod's woven waistband. This is so that the breastpiece might not become unattached from the ephod. 29 When Aaron goes into the holy place, he must carry the names of the sons of Israel over his heart in the breastpiece for decision making, as a continuing memorial before Yahweh. 30 You are to put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece for decision making, so they may be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before Yahweh. Thus Aaron will always carry the means for making decisions for the people of Israel over his heart before Yahweh.
31 You will make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue fabric. 32 It must have an opening for the head in the middle. The opening must have a woven edge round about so that it does not tear. This must be the work of a weaver. 33 On the bottom hem, you must make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn all around. Gold bells must be between them all around. 34 There must be a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate—and so on—all around the hem of the robe. 35 The robe is to be on Aaron when he serves, so that its sound can be heard when he goes into the holy place before Yahweh and when he leaves. This is so that he does not die.
36 You must make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving on a signet, "Holy to Yahweh." 37 You must attach this plate by a blue cord to the front of the turban. 38 It must be on Aaron's forehead; he must always bear any guilt that might attach to the offering of the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart to Yahweh. The turban must be always on his forehead so that Yahweh may accept their gifts. 39 You must make the coat with fine linen, and you must make a turban of fine linen. You must also make a sash, the work of an embroiderer.
40 For Aaron's sons you must make tunics, sashes, and headbands for their honor and splendor. 41 You must clothe Aaron your brother, and his sons with him. You must anoint them, ordain them, and consecrate them to me, so that they may serve me as priests. 42 You must make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh, that will cover them from the waist to the thighs. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear these garments when they enter the tent of meeting or when they approach the altar to serve in the holy place. They must do this so they would not be guilty or else they would die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants after him.
1 Now this is what you must do to set them apart to me so that they may serve me as priests. Take one young bull from the herd and two rams without blemish, 2 bread without yeast, and cakes without yeast mixed with oil. Also take wafers without yeast rubbed with oil. Make the wafers using fine wheat flour. 3 You must put them into a single basket, bring them in the basket, and present them with the bull and the two rams. 4 You must present Aaron and his sons at the entrance to the tent of meeting. You must wash Aaron and his sons in water. 5 You must take the garments and clothe Aaron with the coat, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastpiece, fastening the finely-woven waistband of the ephod around him. 6 You must set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 Then take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and in this way anoint him. 8 You must bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 You must clothe Aaron and his sons with sashes and put headbands on them. The work of the priesthood will belong to them by permanent law. In this way you must consecrate Aaron and his sons for them to serve me.
10 You must all bring the bull before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on its head. 11 You must kill the bull before Yahweh at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 You must take some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and you must pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 13 You must take all the fat that covers the inner parts, and also take the covering of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them; burn it all on the altar. 14 But as for the bull's flesh, as well as its skin and dung, you must burn it up outside the camp. It will be a sin offering.
15 You must also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on its head. 16 You must kill the ram, then take its blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar. 17 You must cut the ram into pieces and wash its inner parts and its legs, and you must put the inner parts, together with its pieces and with its head, 18 on the altar. Then burn the whole ram. It will be a burnt offering to Yahweh, a sweet aroma, an offering made to Yahweh by fire.
19 You must then take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on its head. 20 Then you must kill the ram and take some of its blood. Put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, and on the tip of his sons' right ears, on the thumb of their right hands, and on the great toe of their right feet. Then you must sprinkle the blood against the altar on every side. 21 You must take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it all on Aaron and on his garments, and also on his sons and on their garments. Aaron will then be set apart for me, as well as his garments, his sons and his sons' garments with him. 22 You must take the ram's fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the inner parts, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh—for this ram is for the priests' consecration to me. 23 Take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of bread without yeast that is before Yahweh. 24 You must put these in Aaron's hands and in the hands of his sons and wave them before me for a wave offering before Yahweh. 25 You must then take the food from their hands and burn it on the altar with the burnt offering. It will produce a sweet aroma for me; it will be an offering made to me by fire.
26 You must take the breast of Aaron's ram of dedication and wave it for a wave offering before Yahweh, and it will be your share. 27 You must set apart to me the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh that is the contribution for the priests—both the breast that was waved and the thigh that was contributed for Aaron and his sons—from the ram of consecration. 28 This will be a perpetual share for Aaron and his sons. It will be a contribution from the people of Israel to give to Yahweh from their peace offerings. 29 The holy garments of Aaron must also be reserved for his descendants after him. They are to be anointed in them and ordained to me in them. 30 The priest who succeeds him from among his sons, who comes into the tent of meeting to serve me in the holy place, is to wear those garments for seven days.
31 You must take the ram of consecration and boil its meat in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons must eat the ram's meat and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 33 They must eat the meat and bread that were given to atone for them and to ordain them to be set apart to me. No one else may eat that food; they must treat it as holy. 34 If any of the meat of the ordination offering, or any of the bread, remains to the next morning, then you must burn it. It must not be eaten because it has been set apart to me.
35 In this way, by following all that I have commanded you to do, you must treat Aaron and his sons. For seven days you must prepare them. 36 Every day you must offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. You must purify the altar by making atonement for it, and you must anoint it in order to set it apart to me. 37 For seven days you must make atonement for the altar and set it apart to Yahweh. Then the altar will be completely set apart to me. Whatever touches the altar will be set apart to Yahweh.
38 You must regularly offer on the altar every day two lambs a year old. 39 One lamb you must offer in the morning, and the other lamb you must offer about sundown. 40 With the first lamb, offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and the fourth part of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 You must offer the second lamb about sunset. You must offer the same grain offering as in the morning, and the same drink offering. These will produce a sweet aroma for me; it will be an offering made to me by fire. 42 These must be regular burnt offerings throughout your generations, at the entrance to the tent of meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with you to speak to you there. 43 That is where I will meet with the people of Israel; the tent will be set apart for me by my glory. 44 I will set apart the tent of meeting and the altar for these to belong to me alone. I will also set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 I will live among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 They will know that I am Yahweh, their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt so that I might live among them. I am Yahweh, their God.
1 You must make an altar as a place for burning incense. You must make it with acacia wood. 2 Its length must be one cubit, and its width one cubit. It must be square, and its height must be two cubits. Its horns must be made as one piece with it. 3 You must cover the incense altar with pure gold—its top, its sides, and its horns. You must make a surrounding border of gold for it. 4 You must make two golden rings to be attached to it under its border on its two opposite sides. The rings must be holders for poles to carry the altar. 5 You must make the poles of acacia wood, and you must cover them with gold. 6 You must put the incense altar before the curtain that is by the ark of the covenant decrees. It will be before the atonement lid that is over the ark of the covenant decrees, where I will meet with you. 7 Aaron must burn fragrant incense every morning. He must burn it when he tends the lamps, 8 and Aaron lights the lamps again in the evening so incense will burn on it regularly before Yahweh, throughout your generations. 9 But you must offer no other incense on the incense altar, nor any burnt offering or grain offering. You must pour no drink offering on it. 10 Aaron must make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering he will make atonement for it once a year throughout your generations. It is completely set apart to Yahweh."
11 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12 "When you take a census of the people of Israel, then each person must give a ransom for his life to Yahweh. You must do this after you count them, so that there will be no plague among them when you count them. 13 Everyone who is counted in the census is to pay half a shekel of silver, according to the weight of the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is the same as twenty gerahs). This half shekel will be an offering to Yahweh. 14 Everyone who is counted, from twenty years old and up, must give this offering to me. 15 When the people give this offering to me to make atonement for their lives, the rich must not give more than the half shekel, and the poor must not give less. 16 You must receive this atonement money from the people of Israel and you must allocate it to the work of the tent of meeting. It must be a reminder to the people of Israel before me, to make atonement for your lives."
17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18 "You must also make a large bronze basin with a bronze stand, a basin for washing. You must put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you must put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and their feet with the water in it. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting or when they go near to the altar to serve me by burning an offering, they must wash with water so that they do not die. 21 They must wash their hands and feet so that they do not die. This must be a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants throughout their people's generations."
22 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 23 "Take these fine spices: five hundred shekels of flowing myrrh, 250 shekels of sweet-smelling cinnamon, 250 shekels of sweet-smelling cane, 24 five hundred shekels of cassia, measured by the weight of the shekel of the sanctuary, and one hin of olive oil. 25 You must make holy anointing oil with these ingredients, the work of a perfumer. It will be a holy anointing oil, reserved for me. 26 You must anoint the tent of meeting with this oil, as well as the ark of the covenant decrees, 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its equipment, the incense altar, 28 the altar for burnt offerings with all its equipment, and the basin with its stand. 29 You must set them apart to me so that they may be holy to me. Anything that touches them will also be holy. 30 You must anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so that they may serve me as priests. 31 You must say to the people of Israel, 'This must be an anointing oil that is set apart to Yahweh throughout your people's generations. 32 It must not be applied to people's skin, nor must you make any oil like it with the same formula, because it is set apart to Yahweh. You must regard it in this manner. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it, or whoever puts any of it on someone, that person must be cut off from his people.'"
34 Yahweh said to Moses, "Take spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum—sweet spices along with pure frankincense, each in equal amounts. 35 Make it into the form of incense, blended by a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and set apart. 36 You will beat it to powder. Put part of it in front of the ark of the covenant decrees, which is in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. You will regard it as very holy to me. 37 As for this incense that you will make, you must not make any with the same formula for yourselves. It must be most holy to you. 38 Whoever makes anything like it to use as a perfume must be cut off from his people."
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. 3 I have filled Bezalel with my Spirit, to give him wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, for all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs and to work in gold, silver, and bronze; 5 also to cut and set stones and to carve wood—to do all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 In addition to him, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, from the tribe of Dan. I have put skill into the hearts of all who are wise so that they may make all that I have commanded you. This includes 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant decrees, the atonement lid on the ark, and all the furniture of the tent— 8 the table and its utensils, the pure lampstand with all its equipment, the incense altar, 9 the altar for burnt offerings with all its equipment, and the large basin with its base. 10 This also includes the finely-woven garments—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and those of his sons, reserved for me so that they may serve as priests. 11 This also includes the anointing oil and the sweet incense for the holy place. These craftsmen must make all these things just as I have commanded you."
12 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 13 "Tell the people of Israel: 'You must certainly keep Yahweh's Sabbath days, for these will be a sign between him and you throughout your people's generations so that you may know that he is Yahweh, who sets you apart for himself. 14 So you must keep the Sabbath, for it must be treated by you as holy, reserved for him. Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to death. Whoever works on the Sabbath, that person must surely be cut off from his people. 15 Work will be done for six days, but the seventh day is to be a Sabbath of complete rest, holy before Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel must keep the Sabbath. They must observe it throughout their people's generations as a lasting covenant. 17 The Sabbath will always be a sign between Yahweh and the people of Israel, for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"
18 When God had finished talking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him two tablets of covenant decrees, made of stone, written on by his own hand.
1 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us an idol that will go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him." 2 So Aaron said to them, "Take off the golden rings that are on your wives' ears, and the ears of your sons and daughters, and bring them to me." 3 All the people took off the golden rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with an engraving tool, and he made a cast metal figure in the shape of a calf. Then they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and made a proclamation; he said, "Tomorrow will be a festival in Yahweh's honor." 6 The people arose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Then they sat down to eat and to drink, and then got up to play.
7 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Go quickly, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have quickly left the way that I commanded them. They have made a cast metal image in the shape of a calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it. They have said, 'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.'" 9 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "I have seen this people. Look, they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now then, do not try to stop me. My anger will burn hot against them, so I will destroy them. Then I will make a great nation from you." 11 But Moses tried to calm down Yahweh his God. He said, "Yahweh, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'He led them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth?' Turn from your burning anger and relent from this punishment on your people. 13 Call to mind Abraham and Isaac and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and said to them, 'I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the heavens, and I will give to your descendants all this land of which I have spoken. They will inherit it forever.'" 14 Then Yahweh relented from the punishment that he had said he would inflict on his people.
15 Then Moses turned around and went down the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant decrees in his hand. The tablets were written on both their sides, on both the front and the back. 16 The tablets were God's own work, and the writing was God's own writing, engraved on the tablets. 17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "There is the noise of combat in the camp." 18 But Moses said,
"It is not the sound of a shout of victory,
and it is not the sound of a cry of defeat,
but the sound of singing that I hear."
19 When Moses approached the camp, he saw the calf and the people dancing. He became very angry. He threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the bottom of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that the people had made, burned it, ground it to powder, and poured it into the water. Then he made the people of Israel drink it.
21 Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought such a great sin on them?" 22 Aaron said, "Do not let your anger burn hot, my master. You know these people, how they are set on doing evil. 23 They said to me, 'Make us a god who will go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.' 24 So I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let him take it off.' They gave me the gold and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild (for Aaron had let them get out of control, causing their enemies to mock them). 26 Then Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is on Yahweh's side, come to me." All the Levites gathered around him. 27 He said to them, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this: 'Let each man fasten his sword on his side and go back and forth from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and kill his brother, his companion, and his neighbor.'" 28 The Levites did what Moses ordered. That day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Moses said to the Levites, "You have been placed into Yahweh's service today, for each of you has taken action against his son and his brother, so Yahweh might give you a blessing today."
30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a very great sin. Now I will go up to Yahweh. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 31 Moses returned to Yahweh and said, "Alas! These people have committed a great sin and made themselves an idol of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin; but if you do not, blot me out of the book that you have written." 33 Yahweh said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me, that person I will blot out of my book. 34 So now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. See, my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish them, I will punish them for their sin." 35 Yahweh sent a plague on the people because they had made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Go from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt. Go to the land about which I made an oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3 Go to that land, which is flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up with you, because you are a stiff-necked people. I might destroy you on the way." 4 When the people heard these troubling words, they mourned, and no one put on any jewelry. 5 Yahweh had said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I went among you for even one moment, I would destroy you. So now, take off your jewelry so that I may decide what to do with you.'" 6 So the people of Israel wore no jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.
7 Moses took a tent and pitched it outside the camp, some distance from the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Everyone who asked Yahweh for anything went out to the tent of meeting, outside the camp. 8 When Moses would go out to the tent, all the people would stand up at their tent entrances and look at Moses until he had gone inside. 9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the tent entrance, and Yahweh would speak with Moses. 10 Whenever all the people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the entrance to the tent, they would get up and worship, every man at his own tent entrance. 11 Yahweh would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua son of Nun, a young man, would stay in the tent.
12 Moses said to Yahweh, "See, you have been saying to me, 'Take this people on their journey,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my eyes.' 13 Now if I have found favor in your eyes, show me your ways so that I may know you and continue to find favor in your eyes. Remember that this nation is your people." 14 Yahweh answered, "My own presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Moses said to him, "If your presence does not go with us, do not take us up from here. 16 For otherwise, how will it be known that I have found favor in your eyes, I and your people? Will it not only be if you go with us that I and your people will be distinct from all the other peoples that are on the surface of the earth?"
17 Yahweh said to Moses, "I will also do this thing that you have requested, for you have found favor in my eyes, and I know you by name." 18 Moses said, "Please show me your glory." 19 Yahweh said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim my name 'Yahweh' before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." 20 But Yahweh said, "You must not see my face, for no one can see me and live." 21 Yahweh said, "See, here is a place by me; you will stand on this rock. 22 While my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen."
1 Yahweh said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the first tablets. I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets, the tablets that you broke. 2 Be ready by morning and come up Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the mountain top. 3 No one is to come up with you. Do not let anyone else be seen anywhere on the mountain. No flocks or herds are even to graze in front of the mountain." 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and he got up early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had instructed him. Moses carried the tablets of stone in his hand. 5 Yahweh came down in the cloud and stood with Moses there, and he pronounced the name "Yahweh." 6 Yahweh passed by before him and proclaimed, "Yahweh, Yahweh, the merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquities, transgressions, and sins. But he will by no means clear the guilty. He will bring the punishment for the fathers' sin on their children and on their children's children, as far as the third and fourth generations." 8 Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped. 9 Then he said, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, please go among us, for this people is stiff-necked. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."
10 Yahweh said, "See, I am about to make a covenant. Before all your people, I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation. All the people among you will see my deeds, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I am about to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, or they will become a trap among you. 13 Rather, you must break down their altars, smash their stone pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 For you must worship no other god, for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 So be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for they prostitute themselves to their gods, and they sacrifice to their gods. Then one of them will invite you and you will eat some of his sacrifice, 16 and then you will even take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods, and they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods. 17 Do not make for yourselves gods of molten metal.
18 You must keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you must eat bread without yeast for seven days at the fixed time in the month of Aviv, for it was in the month of Aviv you came out from Egypt. 19 The first issue of every womb is mine, even every male firstborn of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb, but if you do not buy it back, then you must break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one may appear before me empty-handed.
21 You may work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. Even at plowing time and in harvest, you must rest. 22 You must observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and you must observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men must appear before Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel. 24 For I will drive out nations before you and expand your borders. No one will desire to have your land as their own when you go up to appear before Yahweh your God three times in a year.
25 You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with any yeast, nor may any meat from the sacrifice at the Festival of the Passover be left over to the morning. 26 You must bring the best of the firstfruits from your soil to my house. You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk." 27 Yahweh said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." 28 Moses was there with Yahweh for forty days and nights; he did not eat any food nor drink any water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant decrees in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while speaking with God. 30 When Aaron and the people of Israel saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the community came up to him. Then Moses spoke with them. 32 After this, all the people of Israel came up to Moses, and he told them all the commands that Yahweh had given him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. 34 Whenever Moses went before Yahweh to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. When he came out, he would tell the people of Israel what he was commanded to say. 35 When the people of Israel saw Moses' face shining, he would put the veil over his face again until he went back in to speak with Yahweh.
1 Moses assembled all the community of the people of Israel and said to them, "These are the things that Yahweh has commanded you to do. 2 On six days work may be done, but for you, the seventh day must be a holy day, a Sabbath day of complete rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death. 3 You must not light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day."
4 Moses spoke to all the community of the people of Israel, saying, "This is the thing that Yahweh commanded. 5 Take an offering for Yahweh, all of you who have a willing heart. Bring an offering to Yahweh—gold, silver, bronze, 6 blue, purple, and scarlet wool and fine linen; goats' hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and fine leather hides; acacia wood; 8 oil for the sanctuary lamps, spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, 9 onyx stones and other precious stones to be set for the ephod and breastpiece.
10 Every skilled man among you is to come and make everything that Yahweh has commanded— 11 the tabernacle with its tent, its covering, its clasps, frames, bars, posts, and bases; 12 also the ark with its poles, the atonement lid, and the screen to conceal it. 13 They brought the table with its poles, all its utensils, and the bread of the presence; 14 the lampstand for the lights, with its accessories, its lamps, and the oil for the lamps; 15 the incense altar with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the screen for the tabernacle entrance; 16 the altar for burnt offerings with its bronze grate and its poles and utensils; and the large basin with its base. 17 They brought the hangings for the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the screen for the courtyard entrance; 18 and the tent pegs for the tabernacle and courtyard, together with their ropes. 19 They brought the finely-woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and his sons, for them to serve as priests."
20 Then the entire congregation of the people of Israel left and went away from Moses' presence. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him up and whom his spirit made willing came and brought a contribution to Yahweh for the construction of the tabernacle, for all the items of service in it, and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, all who had a willing heart. They brought brooches, earrings, rings, and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry. They all presented offerings of gold as a wave offering to Yahweh. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple, or scarlet wool, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather skins brought them. 24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to Yahweh, and everyone who had acacia wood for any use in the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun wool with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple, or scarlet wool, or fine linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them up and who had skill spun goats' hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be set into the ephod and the breastpiece; 28 they brought spices and oil for the lamps, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 The people of Israel brought a freewill offering to Yahweh; every man and woman whose heart was willing brought materials for all the work that Yahweh had commanded through Moses to be made.
30 Moses said to the people of Israel, "See, Yahweh has called by name on Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled Bezalel with his Spirit, to give him wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, for all kinds of craftsmanship, 32 to make artistic designs and to work in gold, silver, and bronze; 33 also to cut and set stones and to carve wood—to do all kinds of design and craftsmanship. 34 He has put it in his heart to teach, both he and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, from the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work, to work as craftsmen, as engravers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet wool and fine linen, and as weavers. They are craftsmen in all sorts of work, and they are artistic designers.
1 So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom Yahweh has given skill and ability to know how to do any work in the construction of the holy place are to do the work according to all that Yahweh has commanded."
2 Moses summoned Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skillful person in whose mind Yahweh had given skill, and whose heart stirred within him to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings that the people of Israel had brought for constructing the holy place. The people were still bringing freewill offerings every morning to Moses. 4 So all the skilled people working on the holy place came from the work that they had been doing. 5 The craftsmen told Moses, "The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that Yahweh has commanded us to do." 6 So Moses instructed that no one in the camp should bring any more offerings for the construction of the holy place. Then the people stopped bringing these gifts. 7 They had more than enough materials for all the work.
8 So all the craftsmen among them constructed the tabernacle with ten curtains made from fine linen and blue, purple, and scarlet wool with the designs of cherubim. This was the work of Bezalel, the very skilled craftsman. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, the width four cubits. All the curtains were of the same size. 10 Bezalel joined five curtains to each other, and the other five curtains he also joined to each other. 11 He made loops of blue along the outer edge of the end curtain of one set, and he did the same along the outer edge of the end curtain in the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the first curtain and fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain in the second set. So the loops were opposite to each another. 13 He made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains together with them so that the tabernacle became united.
14 Bezalel made curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven of these curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain was four cubits. Each of the eleven curtains was of the same size. 16 He joined five curtains to each other and the other six curtains to each other. 17 He made fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain of the first set, and fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain that joined the second set. 18 Bezalel made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together so that it might be one piece. 19 He made for the tabernacle a covering of ram skins dyed red, another covering of fine leather to go above that.
20 Bezalel made vertical frames out of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 The length of each frame was ten cubits, and the width of each frame was one and a half cubits. 22 Each frame had two wooden pegs for joining the frames together. He did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. 23 He made the frames for the tabernacle in this way: twenty frames for the south side. 24 Bezalel made forty silver bases to go under the twenty frames. There were two bases under one frame to join the frames together, and also two bases under each of the other frames to join frames together. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames 26 and their forty silver bases. There were two bases under the first frame, two bases under the next frame, and so on. 27 For the back of the tabernacle on the west, Bezalel made six frames. 28 He made two frames for the back corners of the tabernacle. 29 These frames were separate at the bottom, but joined at the top in one ring. He made two of them in this way for the two corners. 30 There were eight frames, together with their silver bases. There were sixteen bases in all, two bases under the first frame, two bases under the next frame, and so on.
31 Bezalel made crossbars of acacia wood—five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 five crossbars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the frames for the back side of the tabernacle to the west. 33 He made the crossbar in the center of the frames, that is, halfway up, to reach from end to end. 34 He covered the frames with gold. He made their rings of gold, for them to serve as holders for the crossbars, and he covered the bars with gold.
35 Bezalel made the curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine linen, with designs of cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 36 He made for the curtain four pillars of acacia wood, and he covered them with gold. He also made gold hooks for the pillars, and he cast for them four silver bases. 37 He made a screen for the tent entrance. It was made of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, using fine linen, the work of an embroiderer. 38 He also made the hanging's five pillars with hooks. He covered their tops and their rods with gold. Their five bases were made of bronze.
1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Its length was two and a half cubits, its width was one cubit and a half, and its height was one cubit and a half. 2 He covered it inside and out with pure gold and made for it a border of gold around its top. 3 He cast four rings of gold for its four feet, with two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side. 4 He made poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold. 5 He put the poles into the rings on the ark's sides, in order to carry the ark. 6 He made an atonement lid of pure gold. Its length was two and a half cubits, and its width was one and a half cubits. 7 Bezalel made two cherubim of hammered gold for the two ends of the atonement lid. 8 One cherub was for one end of the atonement lid, and other cherub was for the other end. They were made as one piece with the atonement lid. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings upward and overshadowed the atonement lid with them. The cherubim faced one another and looked toward the center of the atonement lid.
10 Bezalel made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, its width was one cubit, and its height was one and a half cubits. 11 He covered it with pure gold and put a border of pure gold around the top. 12 He made a surrounding frame for it one handbreadth wide, with a surrounding border of gold for the frame. 13 He cast for it four rings of gold and attached the rings to the four corners, where the four feet were. 14 The rings were attached to the frame to provide places for the poles, in order to carry the table. 15 He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold, in order to carry the table. 16 He made the objects that would be on the table—the dishes, spoons, the bowls, and pitchers to be used to pour out the offerings. He made them out of pure gold.
17 He made the lampstand of pure hammered gold. He made the lampstand with its base and shaft. Its cups, its leafy bases, and its flowers were all made of one piece with it. 18 Six branches extended out from its sides—three branches extended from one side, and three branches of the lampstand extended from the other side. 19 The first branch had three cups made like almond blossoms, with a leafy base and a flower, and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, with a leafy base and a flower. It was the same for all six branches extending out from the lampstand. 20 On the lampstand itself, the central shaft, there were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their leafy bases and the flowers. 21 There was a leafy base under the first pair of branches—made as one piece with it, and a leafy base under the second pair of branches—also made as one piece with it. In the same way there was a leafy base under the third pair of branches, made as one piece with it. It was the same for all six branches extending out from the lampstand. 22 Their leafy bases and branches were all one piece with it, one beaten piece of work of pure gold. 23 Bezalel made the lampstand and its seven lamps, its tongs and their trays of pure gold. 24 He made the lampstand and its accessories with one talent of pure gold.
25 Bezalel made the incense altar. He made it with acacia wood. Its length was one cubit, and its width one cubit. It was square, and its height was two cubits. Its horns were made as one piece with it. 26 He covered the incense altar with pure gold—its top, its sides, and its horns. He also made a surrounding border of gold for it. 27 He made two golden rings to be attached to it under its border on its two opposite sides. The rings were holders for poles to carry the altar. 28 He made the poles of acacia wood, and he covered them with gold. 29 He made the holy anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
1 Bezalel made the altar for burnt offerings of acacia wood. It was five cubits long and five cubits wide—a square—and three cubits high. 2 He made extensions of its four corners shaped like ox horns. The horns were made of one piece with the altar, and he covered it with bronze. 3 He made all the equipment for the altar—pots for ashes, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans. He made all this equipment with bronze. 4 He made a grate for the altar, a network of bronze to be placed under the ledge, halfway down to the bottom. 5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grate, as holders for the poles. 6 Bezalel made poles of acacia wood and covered them with bronze. 7 He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar, to carry it. He made the altar hollow, out of planks.
8 Bezalel made the large bronze basin with a bronze stand. He made the basin out of mirrors belonging to the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 9 He also made the courtyard. The hangings on the south side of the courtyard were of fine linen, one hundred cubits long. 10 The hangings had twenty posts, with twenty bronze bases. There were hooks attached to the posts, as well as silver rods. 11 In the same way, along the north side, there were hangings one hundred cubits long with twenty posts, twenty bronze bases, hooks attached to the posts, and silver rods. 12 The hangings of the west side were fifty cubits long, with ten posts and bases. The hooks and rods of the posts were silver. 13 The courtyard was also fifty cubits long on the east side. 14 The hangings for one side of the entrance were fifteen cubits long. They had three posts with three bases. 15 On the other side of the entrance of the courtyard were also hangings fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases. 16 All the hangings around the courtyard were made of fine linen. 17 The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and rods for the posts were made of silver, and the covering for the tops of the posts was also made of silver. All the courtyard posts had silver bands on them. 18 The screen at the courtyard gate was twenty cubits long. It was made of blue, purple, and scarlet linen, fine twined linen, and was twenty cubits long. It was twenty cubits in length and five cubits in height, like the courtyard curtains. 19 Their four pillars and bases were of bronze, and the hooks were of silver. The covering for their tops and its rods were made of silver. 20 All the tent pegs for the tabernacle and courtyard were made of bronze.
21 This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant decrees, as it was taken following Moses' instructions. It was the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 22 Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything that Yahweh had commanded Moses. 23 Oholiab son of Ahisamak, from the tribe of Dan, worked with Bezalel as an engraver, as a skillful workman, and as an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and in fine linen.
24 All the gold that was used for the project, in all the work connected with the holy place—the gold from the wave offering—was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, measured by the standard of the sanctuary shekel. 25 The silver given by the community weighed one hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel, 26 or one beka per person, which is half a shekel, measured by the sanctuary shekel. This figure was reached on the basis of every person who was counted in the census, those twenty years old and older—603,550 men in all. 27 One hundred talents of silver were cast for the bases of the holy place and the bases of the curtain—one hundred bases, one talent for each base. 28 With the remaining 1,775 shekels of silver, Bezalel made the hooks for the posts, covered the tops of the posts, and made the bands for them. 29 The bronze from the wave offering weighed seventy talents and 2,400 shekels. 30 With this he made the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, its bronze grate, all the equipment for the altar, 31 the bases for the courtyard, the bases for the courtyard entrance, all the tent pegs for the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs for the courtyard.
1 With the blue, purple, and scarlet wool, they made finely-woven garments for service in the holy place. They made Aaron's garments for the holy place, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
2 Bezalel made the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine twined linen. 3 They hammered gold sheets and cut them into wires, to work them into the blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and into the fine linen, the work of a skillful workman. 4 They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, attached at its two upper corners. 5 Its finely-woven waistband was like the ephod; it was made of one piece with the ephod, made of fine twined linen that was gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
6 They crafted the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, set with engravings as on a signet with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 Bezalel put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
8 He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful workman, fashioned like the ephod. He made it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of fine linen. 9 It was square. They folded the breastpiece double. It was one span long and one span wide. 10 They set in it four rows of precious stones. The first row had a ruby, a topaz, and a garnet. 11 The second row had an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 The third row had a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 The fourth row had a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. The stones were mounted in gold settings. 14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a signet with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 15 On the breastpiece they made chains like cords, braided work of pure gold. 16 They made two settings of gold and two gold rings, and they attached the two rings to the two corners of the breastpiece. 17 They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the corners of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the other two ends of the braided chains to the two settings. They attached them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at its front. 19 They made two rings of gold and put them on the two other corners of the breastpiece, on the edge next to the inner border of the ephod. 20 They made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the front of the ephod, close to its seam above the finely-woven waistband of the ephod. 21 They tied the breastpiece by its rings to the ephod's rings with a blue cord, so that it might be attached just above the ephod's finely-woven waistband. This was so that the breastpiece might not become unattached from the ephod. This was done as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
22 Bezalel made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue fabric, the work of a weaver. 23 The robe had an opening for the head in the middle. The opening had a woven edge round about so that it did not tear. 24 On the bottom hem of the robe, they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen. 25 They made bells of pure gold, and they put the bells between the pomegranates all around on the bottom edge the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate—on the edge of the robe for Aaron to serve in. This was as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
27 They made the tunics of fine linen for Aaron and for his sons. 28 They made the turban of fine linen, the ornate headbands of fine linen, the linen undergarments of fine linen, 29 and the sash of fine linen and of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, the work of an embroiderer. This was as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold; they engraved on it, like the engraving on a signet, "Holy to Yahweh." 31 They attached to the turban a blue cord to the top of the turban. This was as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
32 So the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was finished. The people of Israel did everything. They followed all the instructions that Yahweh had given to Moses. 33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses—the tent and all its equipment, its clasps, frames, bars, posts, and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of fine leather, and the screen to conceal 35 the ark of the covenant decrees, as well as the poles and the atonement lid. 36 They brought the table, all its utensils, and the bread of the presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps in a row, with its accessories and the oil for the lamps; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the screen for the tabernacle entrance; 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grate and its poles and utensil and the large basin with its base. 40 They brought the hangings for the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the screen for the courtyard entrance; its ropes and tent pegs; and all the equipment for the service of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. 41 They brought the fine woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and his sons, for them to serve as priests. 42 Thus the people of Israel did all the work as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 43 Moses examined all the work, and, behold, they had done it. As Yahweh had commanded, in that way they did it. Then Moses blessed them.
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "On the first day of the first month of the new year you must set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. 3 You must place the ark of the covenant decrees in it, and you must shield the ark with the curtain. 4 You must bring in the table and set in order the things that belong on it. Then you must bring in the lampstand and set up the lamps. 5 You must put the golden incense altar before the ark of the covenant decrees, and you must put the screen at the entrance to the tabernacle. 6 You must put the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. 7 You must put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and you must put water in it. 8 You must set up the courtyard around it, and you must hang up the screen at the courtyard entrance. 9 You must take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything that is in it. You must set it apart and all its furnishings to me; then it will be holy. 10 You must anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils. You must set apart the altar to me and it will become very holy to me. 11 You must anoint the bronze basin and its base and set it apart to me. 12 You are to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and you must wash them with water. 13 You are to clothe Aaron with the garments that are set apart to me, anoint him and set him apart so that he may serve as my priest. 14 You are to bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You must anoint them as you anointed their father so that they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will make for them a permanent priesthood throughout their people's generations." 16 This is what Moses did; he followed all that Yahweh had commanded him. He did all these things.
17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18 Moses set up the tabernacle, put its bases in place, set up its frames, attached its bars, and set up its pillars and posts. 19 He spread the covering over the tabernacle and put the tent over it, as Yahweh had commanded him. 20 He took the covenant decrees and put them into the ark. He also placed the poles on the ark and put the atonement lid on it. 21 He brought the ark into the tabernacle. He set up the curtain for the screen to shield the ark of the covenant decrees, as Yahweh had commanded him. 22 He put the table into the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain. 23 He placed the bread in order on the table before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded him. 24 He put the lampstand into the tent of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 25 He lit the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded him. 26 He put the golden incense altar into the tent of meeting in front of the curtain. 27 He burned fragrant incense on it, as Yahweh had commanded him. 28 He hung the screen at the tabernacle entrance. 29 He put the altar for the burnt offering at the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. He offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as Yahweh had commanded him. 30 He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and he put water in it for washing. 31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet from the basin 32 whenever they would go into the tent of meeting and whenever they would go up to the altar. They washed themselves, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 33 Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar. He set up the screen at the courtyard entrance. In this way, Moses finished the work.
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and because Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey. 37 But if the cloud did not rise up from the tabernacle, then the people would not travel. They would stay until the day that it was lifted up. 38 For Yahweh's cloud was over the tabernacle by day, and his fire was over it by night, in plain view of all the people of Israel throughout their journey.
1 Yahweh called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and tell them, 'When any man from among you brings an offering to Yahweh, bring as your offering an animal, either from the herd or from the flock.
3 If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he must offer a male without blemish. He is to offer it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, so that it may be accepted before Yahweh. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and then it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for himself. 5 Then he must kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron's sons, the priests, will present the blood and sprinkle it on the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 6 Then he must skin the burnt offering and cut it to pieces. 7 Then the sons of Aaron the priest will put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron's sons, the priests, are to place the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire that is on the altar. 9 But its inner parts and its legs he must wash with water. Then the priest will burn everything on the altar as a burnt offering. It will produce a sweet aroma for me; it will be an offering made to me by fire.
10 If his offering for the burnt offering is from the flock, one of the sheep or one of the goats, he must offer a male without blemish. 11 He must kill it on the north side of the altar before Yahweh. Aaron's sons, the priests, will sprinkle its blood on every side of the altar. 12 He is to cut it into pieces with its head and its fat, and the priest must place the pieces on the wood that is on the fire that is on the altar, 13 but the inner parts and the legs he must wash with water. Then the priest will offer the whole, and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, and it will produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh; it will be an offering made to him by fire.
14 If his offering to Yahweh is to be a burnt offering of birds, then he must bring as his offering either a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest must bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. Then its blood must be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He must remove its crop with its contents, and throw it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for the ashes. 17 He must tear it open by its wings, but he must not divide it into two parts. Then the priest will burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It will be a burnt offering, and it will produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh; it will be an offering made to him by fire.
1 When anyone brings a grain offering to Yahweh, his offering must be fine flour, and he will pour oil on it and put incense on it. 2 He is to take the offering to Aaron's sons the priests, and there the priest will take out a handful of the fine flour with the oil and the incense on it. Then the priest will burn the offering on the altar as a representative offering. It will produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh; it will be an offering made to him by fire. 3 Whatever is left of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is very holy to Yahweh from the offerings to Yahweh made by fire.
4 When you offer a grain offering without yeast that is baked in an oven, it must be soft bread of fine flour mixed with oil, or hard bread without yeast, which is spread with oil. 5 If your grain offering is baked with a flat iron pan, it must be of fine flour without yeast that is mixed with oil. 6 You are to divide it into pieces and pour oil on it. This is a grain offering. 7 If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it must be made with fine flour and oil. 8 You must bring the grain offering made from these things to Yahweh, and it will be presented to the priest, who will bring it to the altar. 9 Then the priest will take some from the grain offering as a representative offering, and he will burn it on the altar. It will be an offering made by fire, and it will produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. 10 What is left of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is very holy to Yahweh from the offerings to Yahweh made by fire.
11 No grain offering that you offer to Yahweh is to be made with yeast, for you must burn no leaven, nor any honey, as an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 12 You will offer them to Yahweh as an offering of firstfruits, but they will not be used to produce a sweet aroma on the altar. 13 You must season each of your grain offerings with salt. You must never allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering. With all your offerings you must offer salt.
14 If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to Yahweh, offer fresh grain that is roasted with fire and then crushed into meal. 15 Then you must put oil and incense on it. This is a grain offering. 16 Then the priest will burn part of the crushed grain and oil and incense as a representative offering. This is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
1 If someone offers a sacrifice which is a fellowship offering of an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must offer an animal without blemish before Yahweh. 2 He will lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the door of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron's sons the priests will sprinkle its blood on the sides of the altar. 3 The man will offer the sacrifice of a fellowship offering by fire to Yahweh. The fat that covers or is connected to the inner parts, 4 and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the loins, and the lobe of the liver, with the kidneys—he will remove all of this. 5 Aaron's sons will burn that on the altar with the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire. This will produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh; it will be an offering made to him by fire.
6 If the man's sacrifice of a fellowship offering to Yahweh is from the flock; male or female, he must offer a sacrifice without blemish. 7 If he offers a lamb for his sacrifice, then he must offer it before Yahweh. 8 He will lay his hand on the head of his sacrifice and kill it before the tent of meeting. Then Aaron's sons will sprinkle its blood on the sides of the altar. 9 The man will offer the sacrifice of fellowship offerings as an offering made by fire to Yahweh. The fat, the entire fat tail cut away close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the inner parts and all the fat that is near the inner parts, 10 and the two kidneys and the fat that is with them, which is by the loins, and the lobe of the liver, with the kidneys—he will remove all of this. 11 Then the priest will burn it all on the altar as a burnt offering of food to Yahweh.
12 If the man's offering is a goat, then he will offer it before Yahweh. 13 He must lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it before the tent of meeting. Then the sons of Aaron will sprinkle its blood on the sides of the altar. 14 The man will offer his sacrifice made by fire to Yahweh. He will remove the fat that covers the inner parts, and all the fat near the inner parts. 15 He will also remove the two kidneys and the fat that is with them, which is by the loins, and the lobe of the liver with the kidneys. 16 The priest will burn all that on the altar as a burnt offering of food, to produce a sweet aroma. All the fat belongs to Yahweh. 17 It will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations in every place you make your home, that you must not eat fat or blood.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Tell the people of Israel, 'When anyone sins without wanting to sin, doing any of the things that Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and if he does something that is prohibited, the following must be done.
3 If it is the anointed priest who sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin which he has committed a young bull without blemish to Yahweh as a sin offering. 4 He must bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Yahweh, lay his hand on its head, and kill the bull before Yahweh. 5 The anointed priest will take some of the blood of the bull and take it to the tent of meeting. 6 The priest will dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before Yahweh, before the curtain of the most holy place. 7 Then the priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before Yahweh, which is in the tent of meeting, and he will pour out all the rest of the blood of the bull at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 He will cut away all the fat of the bull of the sin offering; the fat that covers the inner parts, all the fat that is attached to the inner parts, 9 the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is by the loins, and the lobe of the liver, with the kidneys—he will cut away all this. 10 He will cut it all away, just as he cuts it off from the bull of the sacrifice of peace offerings. Then the priest will burn these parts on the altar for burnt offerings. 11 The skin of the bull and any remaining meat, with its head and with its legs and its inner parts and its dung, 12 all the rest of the parts of the bull—he will carry all these parts outside the camp to a place that they have cleansed for me, where they pour out the ashes; they will burn those parts there on wood. They must burn those parts where they pour out the ashes.
13 If the whole assembly of Israel sins without wanting to sin, and the assembly is unaware that they have sinned and done any of the things which Yahweh has commanded not to be done, and if they are guilty, 14 then, when the sin they have committed becomes known, then the assembly must offer a young bull from the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting. 15 The elders of the assembly will lay their hands on the head of the bull before Yahweh, and the bull will be killed before Yahweh. 16 The anointed priest will bring some of the blood of the bull to the tent of meeting, 17 and the priest will dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before Yahweh, before the curtain. 18 He will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before Yahweh, which is in the tent of meeting, and he will pour out all the blood at the base of the altar for burnt offerings, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 19 He will cut off all the fat from it and burn it on the altar. 20 That is what he must do with the bull. Just as he did with the bull of the sin offering, so will he also do with this bull, and the priest will make atonement for the people, and they will be forgiven. 21 He will carry the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the assembly.
22 When a ruler sins without intending to sin, doing any one of all the things that Yahweh his God has commanded not to be done, and he is guilty, 23 then his sin which he has committed is made known to him, he must bring for his sacrifice a goat, a male without blemish. 24 He will lay his hand on the head of the goat and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before Yahweh. This is a sin offering. 25 The priest will take the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings, and he will pour out its blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. 26 He will burn all the fat on the altar, just like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest will make atonement for the ruler concerning his sin, and the ruler will be forgiven.
27 If anyone of the common people sins without intending to sin, doing any of the things which Yahweh has commanded him not to be done, and when he realizes his guilt, 28 then his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he will bring a goat for his sacrifice, a female without blemish, for the sin that he has committed. 29 He will lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering at the place of burnt offering. 30 The priest will take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 He will cut away all the fat, just as the fat is cut away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest will burn it on the altar to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. The priest will make atonement for the man, and he will be forgiven.
32 If the man brings a lamb as his sacrifice for a sin offering, he will bring a female without blemish. 33 He will lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill it for a sin offering at the place where they kill the burnt offering. 34 The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings, and he will pour out all its blood at the base of the altar. 35 He will cut away all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is cut away from the sacrifice of peace offerings, and the priest will burn it on the altar on top of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. The priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and the man will be forgiven.
1 The person who is a witness or has seen or knows about some matter—if he hears the curse but sins by not testifying, he will bear the guilt of his iniquity. 2 Or if anyone touches anything God has designated as unclean, whether it be the carcass of an unclean wild animal or the carcass of any unclean livestock or unclean creatures that move along the ground, even though he was not aware of what he had done, he has become unclean and is guilty. 3 Or if he touches the uncleanness of someone, whatever that uncleanness is, and if he is unaware of it, then he will be guilty when he learns about it. 4 Or if anyone swears rashly with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it is that a man swears rashly with an oath, even if he is unaware of it, when he learns about it, then he will be guilty, in any of these things. 5 When someone is guilty in any of these things, he must confess whatever sin he has committed. 6 Then he must bring his guilt offering to Yahweh for the sin that he has committed, a female animal from the flock, either a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering, and the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin.
7 If he cannot afford to buy a lamb, then he can bring as his guilt offering for his sin two doves or two young pigeons to Yahweh, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 8 He must bring them to the priest, who will offer one for the sin offering first—he will wring off its head from its neck but will not remove it completely from the body. 9 Then he will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and he will drain the rest of the blood out at the base of the altar. This is a sin offering. 10 Then he must offer the second bird as a burnt offering, as described in the instructions, and the priest will make atonement for him for the sin that he has committed, and the person will be forgiven.
11 But if he cannot afford to buy two doves or two young pigeons, then he must bring as his sacrifice for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or any incense on it, for it is a sin offering. 12 He must bring it to the priest, and the priest will take a handful of it as a representative offering and then burn it on the altar, on top of the offerings made by fire for Yahweh. This is a sin offering. 13 The priest will make atonement for any sin that the person has committed, and that person will be forgiven. The leftovers from the offering will belong to the priest, as with the grain offering.'"
14 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 15 "If anyone sins and acts unfaithfully in regard to the things that belong to Yahweh, but did so unintentionally, then he must bring his guilt offering to Yahweh. This offering must be a ram without blemish from the flock; its value must be appraised in silver shekels—the shekel of the sanctuary—as a guilt offering. 16 He must satisfy Yahweh for what he had done wrong in connection with what is holy, and he must add one-fifth to it and give it to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and that person will be forgiven.
17 If anyone sins and does anything that Yahweh has commanded not to be done, even if he was unaware of it, he is still guilty and must carry his own guilt. 18 He must bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, worth the current value, as a guilt offering to the priest. Then the priest will make atonement for him concerning the sin he has committed, of which he was unaware, and he will be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering, and he is certainly guilty before Yahweh."
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "If anyone sins and acts unfaithfully against Yahweh by deceiving his neighbor regarding something held in trust, or was left in his care, or about something that was stolen, or if he has oppressed his neighbor, 3 or he has found something that his neighbor lost and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or in any matters like these by which people sin, 4 and if he has sinned and is found to be guilty, he must restore whatever he took by robbery or oppression, or that which was entrusted to him, or that which was lost but that he had found. 5 In addition, in any matter in which he swore falsely, he must restore it in full and he must add one-fifth of the value of it and pay it all to the owner on the day that he is found guilty. 6 Then he must bring his guilt offering to Yahweh, a ram without blemish from the flock that is worth the current value, as a guilt offering to the priest. 7 The priest will make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he has become guilty of doing."
8 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 9 "Command Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering must be on the hearth of the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar will be kept burning. 10 The priest will put on his linen clothes, and he will also put on his linen underclothes. He will pick up the ashes that are left after the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and he will put the ashes beside the altar. 11 He will take off his garments and put on other garments to carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is clean. 12 The fire on the altar will be kept burning. It must not go out, and the priest will burn wood on it every morning. He will arrange the burnt offering as required on it, and he will burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. 13 Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually. It must not go out.
14 This is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron will offer it before Yahweh before the altar. 15 The priest will take up a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and of the oil and the incense which is on the grain offering, and he will burn it on the altar to produce a sweet aroma as a representative offering. 16 Aaron and his sons will eat whatever is left of the offering. It must be eaten without yeast in a holy place. They will eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 17 It must not be baked with yeast. I have given it as their part of my offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the descendants of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, taken from the fire offerings made to Yahweh. Whoever touches them will become holy.'"
19 So Yahweh spoke to Moses again, saying, 20 "This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they will offer to Yahweh on the day when each son is anointed: a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. 21 It will be made with oil in a baking pan. When it is soaked, you will bring it in. In baked pieces you will offer the grain offering to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. 22 The anointed priest from among his sons will offer it. As commanded forever, it must be burned up completely to Yahweh. 23 Every grain offering of the priest will be completely burned up. It must not be eaten."
24 Yahweh spoke to Moses again, saying, 25 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, 'This is the law of the sin offering: The sin offering must be killed at the place where the burnt offering is killed before Yahweh. It is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it for sin will eat it. It must be eaten in a holy place in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches its meat will become holy, and if the blood is sprinkled on any garment, you must wash it, the part that was sprinkled on, in a holy place. 28 But the clay pot in which it is boiled must be broken. If it is boiled in a bronze pot, it must be scrubbed and rinsed clean in water. 29 Any male among the priests may eat some of it because it is most holy. 30 But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place must not be eaten. It must be burned with fire.
1 This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy. 2 They must kill the guilt offering in the place for killing it, and they must sprinkle its blood against every side of the altar. 3 All the fat in it will be offered: the fat tail, the fat that is over the inner parts, 4 the two kidneys and the fat on them, which is next to the loins, and what covers the liver, with the kidneys—all this must be removed. 5 The priest must burn these parts on the altar as an offering made with fire to Yahweh. This is the guilt offering. 6 Every male among the priests may eat part of this offering. It must be eaten in a holy place because it is most holy. 7 The sin offering is like the guilt offering. The same law applies to both of them. They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them. 8 The priest who offers anyone's burnt offering may have for himself the hide of that offering. 9 Every grain offering that is baked in an oven, and every such offering that is cooked in a frying pan or in a baking pan will belong to the priest who offers it. 10 Every grain offering, either dry or mixed with oil, will belong equally to all the descendants of Aaron.
11 This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which people will offer to Yahweh. 12 If anyone offers it in order to give thanks, then he must offer it with a sacrifice of cakes made without yeast, but mixed with oil, of cakes made without yeast, but spread with oil, and of cakes made with fine flour that is mixed with oil. 13 Also for the purpose of giving thanks, he must offer with the sacrifice of his peace offering cakes of bread made with yeast. 14 He is to offer one of each kind of these sacrifices as a contribution presented to Yahweh. It will belong to the priests who sprinkle the blood of the peace offerings onto the altar.
15 The person presenting a peace offering for the purpose of giving thanks must eat the meat of his offering on the day of the sacrifice. He must not leave any of it until the next morning. 16 But if the sacrifice of his offering is for the purpose of a vow, or for the purpose of a freewill offering, the meat must be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, but whatever remains of it may be eaten on the next day. 17 However, whatever meat of the sacrifice remains on the third day must be burned. 18 If any of the meat of the sacrifice of one's peace offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted, neither will it be credited to the one who offered it. It will be a disgusting thing, and the person who eats it will carry the guilt of his sin.
19 Any meat that touches an unclean thing must not be eaten. It must be burned with fire. As for the rest of the meat, anyone who is clean may eat it. 20 However, an unclean person who eats any meat from the sacrifice of a peace offering that belongs to Yahweh—that person must be cut off from his people. 21 If anyone touches any unclean thing—whether uncleanness of man or of unclean animal or of some unclean, detestable thing—and if he then eats some of the meat of a sacrifice of peace offering that belongs to Yahweh, that person must be cut off from his people.'"
22 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 23 "Speak to the people of Israel and say, 'You must eat no fat of cattle, sheep, or goats. 24 The fat of an animal that died without being a sacrifice, or the fat of an animal torn by wild animals, may be used for other purposes, but you must certainly not eat it. 25 Whoever eats the fat of an animal that men can offer as a sacrifice by fire to Yahweh, that person must be cut off from his people. 26 You must eat no blood whatsoever in any of your houses, whether it is from a bird or an animal. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person must be cut off from his people.'"
28 So Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 29 "Speak to the people of Israel and say, 'He who offers the sacrifice of a peace offering to Yahweh must bring part of his sacrifice to Yahweh. 30 The offering for Yahweh to be made by fire, his own hands must bring it. He must bring the fat with the breast, so that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before Yahweh. 31 The priest must burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his descendants. 32 You must give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings. 33 The priest, one of Aaron's descendants, who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat—he will have the right thigh as his share of the offering. 34 For I have taken from the people of Israel, the breast of the wave offering, and the thigh that is the contribution from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and they have been given to Aaron the priest and his sons as their regular share.
35 This is what has been consecrated for Aaron and his descendants from the offerings for Yahweh made by fire, on the day when Moses presented them to serve Yahweh in the work of priest. 36 This is the share that Yahweh commanded to be given them from the people of Israel, on the day that he anointed the priests. It will always be their share throughout all generations.
37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the consecration offering, and of the sacrifice of peace offerings, 38 about which Yahweh gave commands to Moses on Mount Sinai on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to offer their sacrifices to Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments and the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. 3 Assemble all the assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting." 4 So Moses did as Yahweh commanded him, and the assembly came together at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 5 Then Moses said to the assembly, "This is what Yahweh has commanded to be done."
6 Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 He put the tunic on Aaron and tied the sash around his waist, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him, and then he tied the ephod around him with the finely-woven waistband and bound it to him. 8 He placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. 9 He set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
10 Moses took the anointing oil, anointed the tabernacle and everything in it and set them apart to Yahweh. 11 He sprinkled the oil on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the washbasin and its base, to set them apart to Yahweh. 12 He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to set him apart. 13 Moses brought Aaron's sons and clothed them with tunics. He tied sashes around their waists and wrapped linen cloth around their heads, as Yahweh had commanded him.
14 Moses brought the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull that they had brought for the sin offering. 15 Moses killed it, and he took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar with his finger, purified the altar, poured out the blood at the base of the altar, and set it apart for God in order to make atonement for it. 16 He took all the fat that was on the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and Moses burned it all on the altar. 17 But Moses burned the bull, its hide, its meat, and its dung outside the camp, as Yahweh had commanded him.
18 Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 19 He killed it and sprinkled its blood against every side of the altar. 20 He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head and the pieces and the fat. 21 He washed the inner parts and the legs with water, and he burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering and produced a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
22 Then Moses presented the other ram, the ram of consecration, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. 23 Aaron killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 24 He brought Aaron's sons, and he put some of the blood on the tip of their right ear, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Then Moses sprinkled its blood against every side of the altar. 25 He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat that was on the inner parts, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. 26 Out of the basket of bread without yeast that was before Yahweh, he took one loaf without yeast, and one loaf of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. 27 He put it all in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them before Yahweh as a wave offering. 28 Then Moses took them from off their hands and burned them on the altar for the burnt offering. They were a consecration offering and produced a sweet aroma. It was an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 29 Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering to Yahweh. It was Moses' share of the ram for the priests' ordination, as Yahweh had commanded him.
30 Moses took some of the anointing oil and the blood that was on the altar; he sprinkled these on Aaron, on his clothes, on his sons, and on his sons' clothes with him. In this way he set apart Aaron and his clothes, and his sons and their clothes to Yahweh.
31 So Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Boil the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons will eat it.' 32 Whatever remains of the meat and of the bread you must burn. 33 You must not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are fulfilled. For Yahweh will consecrate you for seven days. 34 What has been done this day—Yahweh has commanded to be done to make atonement for you. 35 You will stay day and night for seven days at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and keep the command of Yahweh, so you will not die, because this is what I have been commanded." 36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things which Yahweh had commanded them through Moses.
1 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, "Take a calf from the herd for a sin offering, and a ram without blemish for a burnt offering, and offer them before Yahweh. 3 You must speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Take a male goat for a sin offering and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without blemish, for a burnt offering; 4 also take an ox and a ram for peace offerings to sacrifice before Yahweh, and a grain offering mixed with oil, because today Yahweh will appear to you.'" 5 So they brought all that Moses commanded to the tent of meeting, and all the assembly of Israel approached and stood before Yahweh. 6 Then Moses said, "This is what Yahweh commanded you to do, so that his glory may appear to you." 7 Moses said to Aaron, "Come near the altar and offer your sin offering and burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and offer the sacrifice for the people to make atonement for them, as Yahweh has commanded."
8 So Aaron went near the altar and killed the calf for the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into it and put it on the horns of the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. 10 However, he burned the fat, the kidneys, and the covering of the liver on the altar as a sin offering, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 11 The meat and the hide he burned outside the camp.
12 Aaron killed the burnt offering, and his sons gave him the blood, which he splashed against every side of the altar. 13 Then they gave him the burnt offering, piece by piece, together with the head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 He washed the inner parts and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.
15 Aaron presented the people's sacrifice—a goat, then took it as the sacrifice for their sin and killed it; he sacrificed it for sin, as he had done with the first goat. 16 He presented the burnt offering and offered it as Yahweh had commanded. 17 He presented the grain offering; he filled his hand with it and burned it on the altar, along with the morning's burnt offering.
18 He killed also the ox and the ram, the sacrifice for the peace offering, which was for the people. Aaron's sons gave him the blood, which he sprinkled against every side of the altar. 19 However, they cut out the fat of the bull and the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the inner parts, the kidneys, and the covering of the liver. 20 They took the parts that were cut out and put these on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar. 21 Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh as a wave offering before Yahweh, as Moses had commanded.
22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them; then he came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering. 23 Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, then came out again and blessed the people, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from Yahweh and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted and lay facedown.
1 Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, each took his censer, put fire in it, and then incense. Then they offered unapproved fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them to offer. 2 So fire came out from before Yahweh and devoured them, and they died before Yahweh. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what Yahweh was talking about when he said,
'I will reveal my holiness to those who come near me.
I will be glorified before all the people.'"
Aaron did not say anything.
4 Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, "Come here and carry your brothers out of the camp from before the tabernacle." 5 So they came near and carried them, still wearing their priestly tunics, out of the camp, as Moses had instructed.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, "Do not let your hair on your heads hang loosely, and do not tear your clothes, so that you may not die, and so that Yahweh may not be angry with all the assembly. But allow your relatives, the entire house of Israel, to mourn for those whom the fire of Yahweh has set ablaze. 7 You must not go out from the entrance of the tent of meeting, or you will die, for the anointing oil of Yahweh is on you." So they acted according to Moses' instructions.
8 Yahweh spoke to Aaron, saying, 9 "Do not drink wine or strong drink, you, or your sons who remain with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, so you will not die. This will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations, 10 to distinguish between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 so that you may teach the people of Israel all the statutes that Yahweh has commanded through Moses."
12 Moses spoke to Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his remaining sons, "Take the grain offering that remains from the offerings to Yahweh made by fire, and eat it without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13 You must eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons' share of the offerings to Yahweh made by fire, for this is what I have been commanded to tell you. 14 As for the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution, you must eat them in a clean place, you and your sons and daughters with you, for they are given as your assigned portion and your sons' assigned portion out of the sacrifices of the fellowship offerings of the people of Israel. 15 As for the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering, they must bring them with the offerings of fat made by fire as a wave offering before Yahweh. They will be yours and your sons' with you as a share forever, as Yahweh has commanded."
16 Then Moses asked about the goat for the sin offering, and found that it was burned up. So he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the remaining sons of Aaron; he said, 17 "Why have you not eaten the sin offering in the area of the tabernacle, since it is most holy, and since Yahweh has given it to you to take away the iniquity of the assembly, to make atonement for them before him? 18 Look, its blood was not brought inside the tabernacle, so you should certainly have eaten it in the tabernacle area, as I commanded." 19 Then Aaron answered Moses, "See, today they made their sin offering and burnt offering before Yahweh, and this thing has happened to me today. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing in the sight of Yahweh?" 20 When Moses heard that, he was satisfied.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. 3 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof and that also chews the cud. 4 However, some animals either chew the cud or have a split hoof, and you must not eat them, animals such as the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof. So the camel is unclean to you. 5 Also the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not have a split hoof, it is also unclean to you. 6 The rabbit, because it chews the cud, but does not have a split hoof, is unclean to you. 7 The pig, although it has a split hoof, does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You must not eat any of their meat, nor touch their carcasses. They are unclean to you.
9 The animals living in the water that you may eat are all those that have fins and scales, whether in the ocean or in the rivers. 10 But all living creatures that do not have fins and scales in the ocean or rivers, including all that move in the water and all the living creatures that are in the water—they must be detested by you. 11 Since they must be detested, you must not eat of their meat; also, their carcasses must be detested. 12 Whatever lives in the water and does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
13 These are the birds you must detest—and you must not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, and the black vulture, 14 the kite, any kind of falcon, 15 every kind of raven, 16 the horned owl and the screech owl, the seagull, and any kind of hawk. 17 You must also detest the little owl and the great owl, the cormorant, 18 the white owl and the barn owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and also the bat.
20 All winged insects that walk on four legs are detestable to you. 21 Yet you may eat any of the flying insects that also walk on four legs if they have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 You may also eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper. 23 But all the flying insects that have four feet must be detested by you.
24 You will become unclean until evening by these animals if you touch a carcass of one of them. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes and remain unclean until evening. 26 Every animal which has a split hoof that is not completely divided or which does not chew the cud is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them will be unclean. 27 Whatever walks on its paws among all the animals that walk on all four legs, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches such a carcass will be unclean until the evening. 28 Whoever picks up such a carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. These animals will be unclean to you.
29 Of the animals that creep on the ground, these are the animals that will be unclean to you: the weasel, the rat, every kind of large lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. 31 Of all the animals that creep, these are the animals which will be unclean to you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening. 32 If any of them dies and falls on anything, that thing will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, leather, or sackcloth. Whatever it is and whatever it is used for, it must be put into water; it will be unclean until evening. Then it will be clean. 33 For every clay pot into or onto which any unclean animal falls, whatever is in the pot will become unclean, and you must destroy that pot. 34 Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is unclean. Any liquid that is for drinking from such a pot is unclean. 35 Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; if it is an oven or small stove, it must be broken to pieces. They are unclean and they must remain unclean to you. 36 A spring or cistern for collecting water remains clean; but anyone who touches their carcass is unclean. 37 If any part of their carcass falls upon any seeds for sowing, those seeds will still be clean. 38 But if water is put on the seeds, and if any part of their carcass falls on them, then they will be unclean to you.
39 If any animal that you may eat dies, then he who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening. 40 Whoever eats any of that carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. Anyone who picks up such a carcass will wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
41 Every animal that creeps on the ground is detestable; it must not be eaten. 42 Whatever crawls on its belly, and whatever walks on all four legs, or whatever has many feet—all the animals that creep on the ground, these you must not eat, for they are detestable. 43 You must not make yourselves detestable with any living creatures that creep; you must not make yourselves unclean with them and you must not be made unclean by them. 44 For I am Yahweh your God. You are to keep yourselves holy, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves with any kind of animal that moves about on the ground. 45 For I am Yahweh, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You must therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46 This is the law regarding the animals, the birds, every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the ground, 47 for which a distinction is to be made between the unclean and the clean, and between the living things that may be eaten and the living things that may not be eaten.'"
1 Yahweh said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, then she will be unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during the days of her monthly impurity. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of a baby boy's foreskin must be circumcised. 4 Then the mother's purification from her bleeding will continue for thirty-three days. She must not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are finished. 5 But if she gives birth to a female child, then she will be unclean for two weeks, as she is during her impurity. Then for sixty-six days she will be purified from her bleeding.
6 When the days of her purification are finished, for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a one year old lamb as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or dove as a sin offering, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest. 7 Then he will offer it before Yahweh and make atonement for her, and she will be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law regarding a woman who gives birth to either a male or a female child. 8 If she is not able to afford a lamb, then she must take two doves or two young pigeons, one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering, and the priest will make atonement for her; then she will be clean.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 "When anyone has on the skin of his body a swelling or scab or a bright spot, and it becomes infected and there is leprosy in his body, then he must be brought to Aaron the high priest, or to one of his sons the priests. 3 Then the priest will examine the disease in the skin of his body. If the hair in the diseased area has turned white, and if the disease appears to be deeper than just on the skin, then it is leprosy. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean. 4 If the bright spot in his skin is white, and the appearance of it is no deeper than the skin, and if the hair in the diseased area has not turned white, then the priest must isolate the one with the disease for seven days. 5 On the seventh day, the priest must examine him to see if in his opinion the disease is not any worse, and if it has not spread in the skin. If it has not, then the priest must isolate him seven days more. 6 The priest will examine him again on the seventh day to see if the disease is better and has not spread farther in the skin. If it has not, then the priest will pronounce him clean. It is a rash. He must wash his clothes, and then he is clean. 7 But if the rash has spread in the skin after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he must then show himself to the priest again. 8 The priest will examine him to see if the rash has spread farther in the skin. If it has spread, then the priest must pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
9 When leprosy is in someone, then he must be brought to the priest. 10 The priest will examine him to see if there is a white swelling in the skin, if the hair has turned white, or if there is raw flesh in the swelling. 11 If there is, then it is leprosy, and the priest must pronounce him unclean. He will not isolate him, because he is already unclean. 12 If the leprosy breaks out widely in the skin and covers all the skin of the person with the disease from his head to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest, 13 then the priest must examine him to see if the leprosy has covered all his body. If it has, then the priest must pronounce the person who has the disease as clean. If it has all turned white, then he is clean. 14 But if raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean. 15 The priest must look at the raw flesh and pronounce him unclean because the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy. 16 But if the raw flesh turns white again, then the person must go to the priest. 17 The priest will examine him to see if the flesh has turned white. If it has then the priest will pronounce that person to be clean.
18 When a person has a boil on the skin and it has healed, 19 and in place of the boil there is white swelling or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it must be shown to the priest. 20 The priest will examine it to see if it appears deeper under the skin, and if the hair there has turned white. If so, then the priest must pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy, if it has developed in the place where the boil was. 21 But if the priest examines it and sees that there is no white hair in it, and that it is not under the skin but has faded, then the priest must isolate him for seven days. 22 If it spreads widely in the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean. It is an infectious disease. 23 But if the bright spot stays in its place and has not spread, then it is the scar of the boil, and the priest must pronounce him clean.
24 When the skin has a burn and the raw flesh of the burn has become a reddish-white or white spot, 25 then the priest will examine it to see if the hair in that spot has turned white, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin. If it has, then it is leprosy. It has broken out in the burn, and the priest must pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy. 26 But if the priest examines it and finds that there is no white hair in the spot, and it is not under the skin but has faded, then the priest must isolate him for seven days. 27 Then the priest must examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread widely in the skin, then the priest must pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy. 28 If the spot stays in its place and has not spread in the skin but has faded, then it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest must pronounce him clean, for it is nothing more than the scar of the burn.
29 If a man or woman has an infectious disease on the head or chin, 30 then the priest must examine the person for an infectious disease to see if it appears to be deeper than the skin, and if there is yellow, thin hair in it. If there is, then the priest must pronounce him unclean. It is an itch, leprosy on the head or the chin. 31 If the priest examines the itching disease and sees that it is not under the skin, and if there is no black hair in it, then the priest will isolate the person with the itching disease for seven days. 32 On the seventh day the priest will examine the disease to see if it has spread. If there is no yellow hair, and if the disease appears to be only skin deep, 33 then he must be shaved, but the diseased area must not be shaved, and the priest must isolate the person with the itching disease for seven more days. 34 On the seventh day the priest will examine the disease to see if it has stopped spreading in the skin. If it appears to be no deeper than the skin, then the priest must pronounce him clean. The person must wash his clothes, and then he will be clean. 35 But if the itching disease has spread widely in the skin after the priest said he was clean, 36 then the priest must examine him again. If the disease has spread in the skin, the priest does not need to seek for yellow hair. The person is unclean. 37 But if in the priest's view the itching disease has stopped spreading and black hair has grown in the area, then the disease has healed. He is clean, and the priest must pronounce him clean.
38 If a man or a woman has white spots on the skin, 39 then the priest must examine the person to see if the spots are a dull white, which is only a rash that has broken out in the skin. He is clean.
40 If a man's hair has fallen out of his head, he is bald, but he is clean. 41 If his hair has fallen out of the front part of his head, and if his forehead is bald, he is clean. 42 But if there is a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is leprosy that has broken out. 43 Then the priest must examine him to see if the swelling of the diseased area on his bald head or forehead is reddish-white, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin. 44 If it is, then he is leprous and is unclean. The priest must surely pronounce him unclean because of his disease on his head.
45 The leprous person who has the disease must wear torn clothes, his hair must hang loosely, and he must cover his face up to his nose and call out, 'Unclean, unclean.' 46 All the days that he has the infectious disease he will be unclean. Because he is unclean with a disease that can spread, he must live alone. He must live outside the camp.
47 A garment that is contaminated with leprosy, whether it is a wool or linen garment, 48 or anything woven or knitted from wool or linen, or leather or anything made with leather— 49 if there is a greenish or reddish contamination in the garment, the leather, the woven or knitted material, or anything made of leather, then it is a leprosy that spreads; it must be shown to the priest. 50 The priest must examine the item for leprosy; he must isolate anything that has leprosy for seven days. 51 He must examine the leprosy again on the seventh day. If it has spread in the garment or anything woven or knitted from wool or linen material, or leather or anything in which leather is used, then it is harmful leprosy, and the item is unclean. 52 He must burn the garment, or anything woven or knitted from wool or linen material, or leather or anything made with leather, anything in which the leprosy is found, for it can lead to disease. The item must be completely burned up.
53 If the priest examines the item and sees that the leprosy has not spread in the garment or material woven or knitted from wool or linen, or leather goods, 54 then he will command them to wash the item in which the leprosy was found, and he must isolate it for seven more days. 55 Then the priest will examine the item after the item where there was leprosy was washed. If the leprosy has not changed its color, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. You must burn the item, no matter where the leprosy has contaminated it.
56 If the priest examines the item, and if the leprosy has faded after it was washed, then he must tear out the contaminated part from the garment or from the leather, or from the woven or knitted material. 57 If the leprosy still appears in the garment, either in the woven or knitted material, or in anything made of leather, it is spreading. You must burn any item that has the leprosy. 58 The garment or anything woven or knitted from wool or linen material, or leather or anything made with leather—if you wash the item and the leprosy is gone, then the item must be washed a second time, and it will be clean.
59 This is the law about leprosy in a garment of wool or linen, or anything woven or knitted from wool or linen material, or leather or anything made with leather, so that you may pronounce it clean or unclean."
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "This will be the law for the leper on the day of his cleansing. He must be brought to the priest. 3 The priest will go out of the camp to examine the leper to see if the leprosy is healed. 4 Then the priest will command that the one to be cleansed must take two live, clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. 5 The priest will command him to kill one of the birds over fresh water that is in a clay pot. 6 The priest will then take the live bird and the cedar wood, and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and he will dip all these things, including the live bird, in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 Then the priest will sprinkle this water seven times onto the person who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and then the priest will pronounce him to be clean. Then the priest will release the living bird into the open fields. 8 The person who is being cleansed will wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and then he will be clean. After that he must come into the camp, but he will live outside his tent for seven days. 9 On the seventh day he must shave all his hair off his head, and he must also shave off his beard and eyebrows. He must shave off all his hair, and he must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; then he will be clean.
10 On the eighth day he must take two male lambs without blemish, one female lamb a year old without blemish, and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil. 11 The priest who cleanses him will stand the person who is to be cleansed, along with those things, before Yahweh at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 The priest will take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, together with the log of oil; he will wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. 13 He must kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offerings and the burnt offerings, in the area of the tabernacle, for the sin offering belongs to the priest, as does the guilt offering, because it is most holy. 14 The priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the person who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest will take oil from the log and pour it into the palm of his own left hand, 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before Yahweh. 17 The priest will put the rest of the oil in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the person to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. He must put this oil on top of the blood from the guilt offering. 18 As for the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand, he will put it on the head of the person who is to be cleansed, and the priest will make atonement for him before Yahweh. 19 Then the priest will offer the sin offering and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness, and afterward he will kill the burnt offering. 20 Then the priest will offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. The priest will make atonement for the person, and then he will be clean.
21 However, if the person is poor and cannot afford these sacrifices, then he may take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for himself, and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil, 22 together with two doves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; one bird will be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 On the eighth day he must bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance to the tent of meeting, before Yahweh. 24 The priest will take the lamb for an offering, and he will take with it the log of olive oil, and he will wave them as a wave offering before Yahweh. 25 The priest will kill the lamb for the guilt offering, and he will take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the one who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 Then the priest will pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and he will sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Yahweh. 28 The priest will then put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of the one who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, the same places where he put the blood of the guilt offering. 29 He will put the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the head of the one who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before Yahweh. 30 He must offer one of the doves or young pigeons, such as the person has been able to get— 31 one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, along with the grain offering. Then the priest will make atonement for the one who is to be cleansed before Yahweh. 32 This is the law for a person in whom there is leprosy, who is not able to afford the standard offerings for his cleansing."
33 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 34 "When you have come into the land of Canaan which I gave to you as a possession, and if I put leprosy that spreads in a house in the land of your possession, 35 then he who owns the house must come and tell the priest. He must say, 'There seems to me to be something like leprosy in my house.' 36 Then the priest will command that they empty the house before he goes in to see the evidence of leprosy, so that nothing in the house will be made unclean. Afterward the priest must go in to see the house. 37 He must examine the leprosy to see if it is in the house walls, and to see whether it appears greenish or reddish in the depressions in the wall's surface. 38 If the house does have leprosy, then the priest will go out of the house and shut the door to the house for seven days. 39 Then the priest will return again on the seventh day and examine it to see if the leprosy has spread in the walls of the house. 40 If it has, then the priest will command that they take out the stones in which the leprosy has been found and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. 41 He will require all the inside walls of the house to be scraped, and they must take the contaminated material that is scraped off outside the city and dump it into the unclean place. 42 They must take other stones and put them in the place of the stones that were removed, and they must use new clay to plaster the house.
43 If leprosy comes again and breaks out in the house in which the stones have been taken away and the walls have been scraped and then replastered, 44 then the priest must come in and examine the house to see if leprosy has spread in the house. If it has, then it is harmful leprosy, and the house is unclean. 45 The house must be torn down. The stones, timber, and all the plaster in the house must be carried away out of the city to the unclean place. 46 In addition, whoever goes into the house during the time it is closed up will be unclean until evening. 47 Anyone who has lain down in the house must wash his clothes, and anyone who ate in the house must wash his clothes.
48 If the priest enters the house to examine it to see whether the leprosy has spread in the house after the house was plastered, then, if the leprosy is gone, he will pronounce the house clean. 49 Then the priest must take two birds to cleanse the house, and cedar wood, and scarlet yarn, and hyssop. 50 He will kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay jar. 51 He will take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the killed bird, into the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times. 52 He will cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the fresh water, with the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. 53 But he will let the live bird go out of the city into the open fields. In this way he must make atonement for the house, and it will be clean.
54 This is the law for all types of leprosy and things that cause it, and for an itch, 55 and for leprosy in clothing and in a house, 56 for swelling, for a rash, and for a bright spot, 57 to determine when any of these cases is unclean or when it is clean. This is the law for leprosy."
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, 'When any man has an infected fluid that comes out of his body, he becomes unclean. 3 His uncleanness is due to this infected fluid. Whether his body flows with fluid or is stopped up, it is unclean. 4 Every bed on which he lies will be unclean, and everything on which he sits will be unclean. 5 Whoever touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until evening. 6 Anyone who sits on anything on which the man with the flow of infected fluid sat, that person must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening. 7 Anyone who touches the body of the one who has a flow of infected fluid must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until evening. 8 If the person who has such a flow of fluid spits on someone who is clean, then that person must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening. 9 Any saddle which he who has a flow rides upon will be unclean. 10 So whoever touches anything that was under that person will be unclean until evening, and anyone who carries those things must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; he will be unclean until evening. 11 Anyone the man with the discharge touches without washing his hands with water must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening. 12 Any clay pot that the one with such a flow of fluid touches must be broken, and every container of wood must be rinsed in water.
13 When he who has a flow is cleansed from his flow, then he must count for himself seven days for his cleansing; then he must wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water. Then he will be clean. 14 On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before Yahweh at the entrance to the tent of meeting; there he must give the birds to the priest. 15 The priest must offer them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and the priest must make atonement for him before Yahweh for his flow.
16 If any man has an emission of semen, then he must bathe his whole body in water; he will be unclean until evening. 17 Every garment or leather on which there is semen must be washed with water; it will be unclean until evening. 18 If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both of them must bathe with water and be unclean until evening.
19 When a woman has a flow of blood, her impurity will continue for seven days, and whoever touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Everything she lies on during her period will be unclean; everything that she sits on will also be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; that person will be unclean until evening. 22 Whoever touches anything that she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water; that person will be unclean until evening. 23 Whether it is on the bed or on anything on which she sits, if he touches it, that person will be unclean until evening. 24 If any man lies with her, and if her impure flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days. Every bed on which he lies will be unclean.
25 If a woman has a flow of blood for many days that is not in the time of her impurity, or if she has a flow beyond the time of her impurity, during all the days of the flow of her uncleanness, she will be as if she were in the days of her impurity. She is unclean. 26 Every bed on which she lies all during her flow of blood will be to her just like the bed on which she lies during her impurity, and everything on which she sits will be unclean, just like the uncleanness of her impurity. 27 Whoever touches any of those things will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until evening. 28 But if she is cleansed from her flow of blood, then she will count for herself seven days, and after that she will be clean. 29 On the eighth day she will take to her two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 30 The priest will offer one bird as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and he will make atonement for her before Yahweh for her unclean flow of blood.
31 This is how you must separate the people of Israel from their uncleanness, so they will not die due to their uncleanness, by defiling my tabernacle, where I live among them.
32 This is the law for anyone who has a flow of fluid, for any man whose semen goes out of him and makes him unclean, 33 for any woman who has a menstrual period, for anyone with a flow of fluid, whether male or female, and for any man who lies with an unclean woman.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses—this was after the death of Aaron's two sons, when they had gone near to Yahweh and then died. 2 Yahweh said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron your brother and tell him not to come at just any time into the most holy place inside the curtain, before the atonement lid that is on the ark. If he does, he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement lid. 3 So here is how Aaron must come into the most holy place. He must enter with a young bull as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He must put on the holy linen tunic, and he must put the linen undergarments on himself, and he must wear the linen sash and linen turban. These are the holy garments. He must bathe his body in water and then dress himself with these clothes. 5 He must take from the assembly of the people of Israel two male goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering.
6 Then Aaron must present the bull as the sin offering, which will be for himself, to make atonement for himself and his family. 7 Then he must take the two goats and set them before Yahweh at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 Then Aaron must cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Yahweh, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron must then present the goat on which the lot fell for Yahweh, and offer that goat as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell for the scapegoat must be brought alive before Yahweh, to make atonement by sending him away as a scapegoat into the wilderness.
11 Then Aaron must present the bull for the sin offering, which will be for himself. He must make atonement for himself and for his family, so he must kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 Aaron must take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Yahweh, with his hands full of finely ground sweet incense, and bring these things inside the curtain. 13 There he must put the incense on the fire before Yahweh so that the cloud from the incense may cover the atonement lid over the covenant decrees. He must do this so he will not die. 14 Then he must take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the atonement lid. He must sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times before the atonement lid.
15 Then he must kill the goat for the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the curtain. There he must do with the blood as he did with the blood of the bull: He must sprinkle it on the atonement lid and then before the atonement lid. 16 He must make atonement for the holy place because of the unclean actions of the people of Israel, and because of their rebellion and all their sins. He must also do this for the tent of meeting, where Yahweh lives among them, in the presence of their unclean actions. 17 No one must be in the tent of meeting when Aaron enters it to make atonement in the most holy place, and until he comes out and has finished making atonement for himself and for his family, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 He must go out to the altar that is before Yahweh and make atonement for it, and he must take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 He must sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and set it apart to Yahweh, away from the unclean actions of the people of Israel.
20 When he has finished atoning for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he must present the live goat. 21 Aaron must lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over him all the evil deeds of the people of Israel, all their rebellion, and all their sins. Then he must put that sinfulness on the head of the goat and send the goat away in the care of a man who is ready to lead the goat into the wilderness. 22 The goat must carry on himself all the people's evil deeds to a solitary place. There in the wilderness, the man must let the goat go free.
23 Then Aaron must go back into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments that he had put on before going into the most holy place, and he must leave those garments there. 24 He must bathe his body in water in a holy place, and put on his normal garments; then he must go out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering for the people, and in this way make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He must burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The man who let the scapegoat go free must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that, he may come back into the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, must be carried outside the camp. There they must burn their hides, flesh, and dung. 28 The man who burns those parts must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that, he may come back into the camp.
29 It will always be a statute for you that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves and do no work, whether the native born or a foreigner who is living among you. 30 This is because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you from all your sins so you will be clean before Yahweh. 31 It is a solemn Sabbath of rest for you, and you must humble yourselves and do no work. This will always be a statute among you. 32 The high priest, the one who will be anointed and ordained to be high priest in his father's place, must make this atonement and put on the linen garments, that is, the holy garments. 33 He must make atonement for the most holy place; he must make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he must make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 This will always be a statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel because of all their sins, once in every year." This was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all the people of Israel. Tell them what Yahweh has commanded: 3 'Any man from Israel who kills an ox, lamb, or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, in order to sacrifice it— 4 if he does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a sacrifice to Yahweh before his tabernacle, that man is guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood, and that man must be cut off from among his people. 5 The purpose of this command is so that the people of Israel will bring their sacrifices to Yahweh at the entrance to the tent of meeting, to the priest, to be sacrificed as fellowship offerings to Yahweh, instead of offering sacrifices in an open field. 6 The priest will sprinkle the blood on Yahweh's altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting; he will burn the fat for it to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. 7 The people must no longer offer their sacrifices to goat idols, for which they act as prostitutes. This will be a permanent statute for them throughout their people's generations.'
8 You must say to them, 'Any man of Israel, or any foreigner who lives among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting in order to sacrifice it to Yahweh, that man must be cut off from his people.
10 If any person of the house of Israel, or any foreigner who lives among them consumes any blood, I will set my face against that person who consumes blood and I will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of an animal is in its blood. I have given its blood to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, because it is the blood that makes atonement, for it is the blood that atones for the life. 12 Therefore I said to the people of Israel that no one among you must eat blood, neither may any foreigner who lives among you eat blood. 13 Anyone of the people of Israel, or any of the foreigners who live among them, who hunts and kills an animal or bird that may be eaten, that person must pour out its blood and cover the blood with earth.
14 For the life of each creature is its blood. That is why I said to the people of Israel, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every living creature is its blood. Whoever eats it must be cut off." 15 Every person who eats an animal that has died or that has been torn by wild animals, whether that person is native born or a foreigner living among you, he must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he will be unclean until the evening. Then he will be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes or bathe his body, then he must carry his guilt.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'I am Yahweh your God. 3 You must not do the things that the people do in Egypt, where you lived previously. You must not do the things that the people do in Canaan, the land to which I am taking you. Do not follow their customs. 4 My laws are what you must do, and my commandments are what you must keep, so that you walk in them, because I am Yahweh your God. 5 Therefore you must keep my decrees and my laws. If a person obeys them, he will live because of them. I am Yahweh.
6 Do not approach any close relatives to uncover nakedness, I am Yahweh. 7 Do not uncover the nakedness of your father by uncovering the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you must not uncover her nakedness. 8 Do not uncover the nakedness of your father's wives; it is your father's nakedness. 9 Do not uncover the nakedness of your sister, whether she is the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother, whether she was born in your home or distant from you. 10 Do not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11 Do not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12 Do not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13 Do not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, she is your mother's relative. 14 Do not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you must not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15 Do not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife; you must not uncover her nakedness. 16 Do not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; that is your brother's nakedness. 17 Do not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter; and you must not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; that is wickedness. 18 You must not marry your wife's sister as a second wife and uncover her nakedness while your first wife is alive.
19 Do not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness during the impurity of her uncleanness. 20 Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her in this way. 21 You must not give any of your children to put them into the fire, so that you sacrifice them to Molech, because you must not profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh. 22 Do not lie with other men as with a woman; that is detestable. 23 Do not lie with any animal and defile yourself with it. Neither should any woman present herself to an animal to lie with it; that is a perversion.
24 Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for in all these ways the nations are defiled, the nations that I will drive out from before you. 25 The land became defiled, so I have punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 You, therefore, must keep my commandments and decrees, and you must not do any of these detestable things, neither the native-born Israelite nor the foreigner who lives among you. 27 For these detestable things are what the people who lived in the land before you committed, and now the land is defiled. 28 Therefore be careful so that the land does not vomit you up also after you have defiled it, as it vomited out the people who were before you. 29 Whoever does any of these detestable things, the persons who do such things will be cut off from among their people. 30 Therefore you must keep my command not to practice any of these detestable customs which were practiced here before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am Yahweh your God.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to all the assembly of the people of Israel and say to them, 'You must be holy, for I Yahweh your God am holy. 3 Everyone must respect his mother and his father, and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God. 4 Do not turn to worthless idols, nor make for yourselves molten gods. I am Yahweh your God.
5 When you offer a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to Yahweh, you must offer it that you may be accepted. 6 It must be eaten the same day you offer it, or on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it must be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is a foul thing; it must not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it must carry his own guilt because he has defiled what is holy to Yahweh, and that person must be cut off from his people.
9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not completely reap the corners of your field, neither will you gather all the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You must not gather every grape from your vineyard, nor gather the grapes that have fallen on the ground in your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.
11 Do not steal.
Do not lie.
Do not deceive each other.
12 Do not swear by my name falsely and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
13 Do not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant must not stay with you all night until the morning.
14 Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but fear your God. I am Yahweh.
15 Do not cause judgment to be false. You must not exalt the poor nor favor the great. Instead, judge your neighbor justly.
16 Do not walk around spreading slander among your people, but seek to protect your neighbor's life. I am Yahweh.
17 Do not hate your brother in your heart. You should rebuke your neighbor frankly, and do not bring sin upon yourself because of him.
18 Do not take vengeance or hold any grudge against any of your people, but instead love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
19 You must keep my commands.
Do not try to breed your animals with different kinds of other animals.
Do not mix two different kinds of seeds when planting your field.
Do not wear clothing made of two kinds of material mixed together.
20 Whoever lies with a slave girl who is promised to a husband, but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, must be punished. They must not be put to death because she was not free.
21 A man must bring his guilt offering to Yahweh to the entrance to the tent of meeting—a ram as a guilt offering. 22 Then the priest will make atonement for him with the ram for the guilt offering before Yahweh, for the sin that he has committed. Then the sin which he has committed will be forgiven.
23 When you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you must regard the fruit they produce as forbidden to be eaten. The fruit must be forbidden to you for three years. It must not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all the fruit will be holy, a sacrifice of praise to Yahweh. 25 In the fifth year you may eat the fruit, having waited so that the trees might produce more. I am Yahweh your God.
26 Do not eat any meat with blood still in it.
Do not practice divination or sorcery.
27 You will not round off the corners of the hair on the sides of your head or shave off the edge of your beard.
28 Do not cut your body for the dead or put tattoo marks on your body. I am Yahweh.
29 Do not disgrace your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the nation will fall to prostitution and the land will become full of wickedness.
30 You must keep my Sabbaths and honor the sanctuary of my tabernacle. I am Yahweh.
31 Do not turn to sorcerers or spiritists. Do not seek them out, or they will defile you. I am Yahweh your God.
32 You must rise before the gray-headed person and honor the presence of an old man. You must fear your God. I am Yahweh.
33 If a foreigner lives among you in your land, you must not do him any wrong. 34 The foreigner who lives with you must be to you like the native-born Israelite who lives among you, and you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.
35 Do no injustice when measuring length, weight, or quantity. 36 You must use just scales, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 You must obey all my decrees and all my laws, and do them. I am Yahweh.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Say to the people of Israel, 'Anyone among the people of Israel, or any foreigner who lives in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech, must certainly be put to death. The people in the land must stone him with stones. 3 I also will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people because he has given his child to Molech, so as to defile my holy place and profane my holy name. 4 If the people of the land close their eyes to that man when he gives any of his children to Molech, if they do not put him to death, 5 then I myself will set my face against that man and his clan, and I will cut him off and everyone else who acts like a prostitute as he did in order to act like a prostitute with Molech.
6 The person who turns to sorcerers and spiritists so as to prostitute themselves with them, I will set my face against that person; I will cut him off from among his people. 7 Therefore consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am Yahweh your God. [1]
8 You must keep my commands and carry them out. I am Yahweh who sets you apart as holy.
9 Everyone who curses his father or his mother must surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, so his blood is upon him.
10 The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, that is, anyone who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife—the adulterer and the adulteress must both certainly be put to death.
11 If a man lies with his father's wife, he uncovers his father's nakedness. Both the son and his father's wife must certainly be put to death. Their blood is upon them.
12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them must certainly be put to death. They have committed perversion. Their blood is upon them.
13 If a man lies with another man, as with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them.
14 If a man marries a woman and also marries her mother, this is wickedness. They must be burned, both he and the women, so that there will be no wickedness among you.
15 If a man lies with an animal, he must surely be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must certainly be put to death. Their blood is upon them.
17 If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and he sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a shameful thing. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister and he must carry his guilt.
18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and has uncovered her nakedness, he has uncovered her flow, the fountain of her blood. Both the man and woman must be cut off from among their people.
19 You must not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, or your father's sister, because you would disgrace your close relative. You must carry your own guilt.
20 If a man lies with his aunt, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness. They will bear responsibility for their sin, and they will die childless.
21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, that is abhorrent. He has uncovered his brother's nakedness; they will be childless.
22 You must therefore keep all my statutes and all my decrees; you must obey them so that the land into which I am bringing you to live will not vomit you up.
23 You must not walk in the statutes of the nations that I will drive out before you, for they have done all these things, and I detest them.
24 I said to you, "You will inherit their land; I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the other peoples. 25 You must therefore distinguish between the clean animals and the unclean, and between the unclean birds and the clean. You must not make yourselves detestable with unclean animals or birds or with any creature that crawls along the ground, which I have separated as unclean from you.
26 You must be holy, for I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples, for you belong to me.
27 A man or a woman who is a sorcerer or spiritist must certainly be put to death. The people must stone them with stones. Their blood is upon them.'"
1 Yahweh said to Moses: "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, 'No one among you should make himself unclean for those who die among his people, 2 except for his closest relatives—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 or his virgin sister who is dependent on him, since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean. 4 But he must not make himself unclean for other relatives and so defile himself.
5 Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the corners of their beards, nor cut their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God and not disgrace the name of their God, because the priests offer Yahweh's food offerings, the bread of their God. Therefore the priests must be holy. 7 They must not marry any woman who is a prostitute and who is defiled, and they must not marry a woman divorced from her husband, for he is holy to his God.
8 You will set him apart, for he is the one who offers bread to your God. He must be holy to you, because I, Yahweh who makes you holy, am holy.
9 Any daughter of any priest who defiles herself by becoming a prostitute disgraces her father. She must be burned.
10 The one who is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured, and who has been consecrated to wear the special garments of the high priest, must not wear his hair loose or tear his clothes. 11 He must not go anywhere that a dead body is present and defile himself, even for his father or his mother. 12 The high priest must not leave the sanctuary area of the tabernacle or profane the sanctuary of his God, because he has been consecrated as high priest by the anointing oil of his God. I am Yahweh.
13 The high priest must marry a virgin as his wife. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman who is a prostitute. He will not marry these kinds of women. He may only marry a virgin from his own people, 15 so he will not defile his children among his people, for I am Yahweh, who makes him holy.'"
16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 "Speak to Aaron and tell him, 'Whoever of your descendants throughout their generations has a bodily defect, he must not approach to offer the food to his God. 18 Any man who has a bodily defect must not approach Yahweh, such as a blind man or a man who is unable to walk, one who is disfigured or deformed, 19 a man with a crippled hand or foot, 20 a man who has a hump in his back or is abnormally thin or short, or a man with a defect in his eyes, or with a disease, sore, scabs, or whose testicles have been crushed. 21 No man among the descendants of Aaron the priest with a bodily defect may come near to perform the offerings made by fire for Yahweh. Such a man has a bodily defect; he must not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the food of his God, whether some of the most holy or some of the holy. 23 However, he must not enter inside the curtain or come near the altar, because he has a bodily defect, so that he does not defile my holy place, for I am Yahweh, who makes them holy.'" 24 So Moses spoke these words to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the people of Israel.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons, tell them to keep away from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they set apart to me. They must not profane my holy name. I am Yahweh. 3 Say to them, 'If any of your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel have set apart to Yahweh, while he is unclean, that person must be cut off from before me: I am Yahweh.
4 None of the descendants of Aaron who is leprous or has an infection flowing from his body may eat any of the sacrifices made to Yahweh until he is clean. Whoever touches anything unclean through contact with the dead, or by contact with a man who has a flow of semen, 5 or whoever touches any creeping animal that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever kind of uncleanness it may be— 6 then the priest who touches anything unclean will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy things, unless he has bathed his body in water.
7 When the sun has set, he will then be clean. After sunset he may eat from the holy things, because they are his food. 8 He must not eat anything found dead or killed by wild animals, by which he would defile himself. I am Yahweh.
9 The priests must follow my instructions, or they will be guilty of sin and could die for profaning me. I am Yahweh who makes them holy.
10 No one outside the priest's family, including guests of a priest or his hired servants, may eat anything that is holy. 11 But if a priest buys any slave with his own money, that slave may eat from the things set apart to Yahweh. The priest's family members and slaves born in his house, they also may eat with him from those things.
12 If a priest's daughter married someone who is not a priest, she may not eat any of the holy contribution offerings. 13 But if a priest's daughter is a widow, or divorced, and if she has no child, and if she returns to live in her father's house as in her youth, she may eat from her father's food. But no one who is not in the priestly family may eat from the priest's food.
14 If a man eats a holy food without knowing it, then he must repay the priest for it; he must add one-fifth to it and give it back to the priest.
15 The people of Israel must not profane the holy things that they have raised high and presented to Yahweh, 16 and cause themselves to carry the sin that would make them guilty of eating the holy food, for I am Yahweh who makes them holy.'"
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 18 "Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the people of Israel. Say to them, 'Any man from the house of Israel, or an alien living in Israel, when they present a sacrifice—whether it is to fulfill a vow, or whether it is a freewill offering, or they present to Yahweh a burnt offering, 19 if it is to be accepted, they must offer a male animal without blemish from the cattle, sheep, or goats. 20 But you must not offer whatever has a blemish. I will not accept it on your behalf.
21 Whoever offers a sacrifice of fellowship offerings from the herd or the flock to Yahweh to fulfill a vow, or as a freewill offering, it must be unblemished to be accepted. There must be no defect in the animal. 22 You must not offer animals that are blind, disabled, or maimed, or that have warts, sores, or scabs. You must not offer these to Yahweh as a sacrifice by fire on the altar. 23 You may present as a freewill offering an ox or a lamb that is deformed or small, but an offering like that will not be accepted for a vow.
24 Do not offer any animal to Yahweh that has bruised, crushed, torn, or cut testicles. Do not do this within your land. 25 You must not present the bread of your God from the hand of a foreigner. Those animals are deformed and have defects in them, they will not be accepted for you.'"
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 27 "When a calf or a sheep or a goat is born, it must remain seven days with its mother. Then from the eighth day on, it may be accepted as a sacrifice for an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
28 Do not kill a cow or ewe along with its young, both on the same day. 29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to Yahweh, you must sacrifice it in an acceptable way. 30 It must be eaten on the same day that it is sacrificed. You must leave none of it until the next morning. I am Yahweh.
31 So you must keep my commandments and carry them out. I am Yahweh.
32 You must not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the people of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am Yahweh."
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses: 2 "Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, 'These are the appointed festivals for Yahweh, which you must proclaim as holy assemblies; they are my regular festivals. 3 You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy assembly. You must do no work because it is a Sabbath for Yahweh in all the places where you live.
4 These are the appointed festivals of Yahweh, the holy assemblies that you must announce at their appointed times: 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is Yahweh's Passover. 6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread for Yahweh. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 The first day you must set apart to gather together; you will not do any of your regular work. 8 You will present a food offering to Yahweh for seven days. The seventh day is an assembly set apart to Yahweh, and on that day you must not do any regular work.'"
9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you have come into the land that I will give you, and when you reap its harvest, then you must bring a bundle of the firstfruit of the grain to the priest. 11 He will raise the bundle of grain before Yahweh and present it to him, for it to be accepted on your behalf. It is on the day after the Sabbath that the priest will raise it and present it to me. 12 On the day when you raise the bundle of grain and present it to me, you must offer a male lamb one year old and without blemish as a burnt offering to Yahweh. 13 The grain offering must be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh, to produce a sweet aroma, and with it a drink offering of wine, a fourth of a hin. 14 You must eat no bread, nor roasted or fresh grain, until the same day you have brought this offering to your God. This will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations, in every place that you live.
15 Beginning from the day after the Sabbath—that was the day you brought the bundle of grain as the wave offering—count seven full weeks. 16 You must count fifty days, which would be the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you must present an offering of new grain to Yahweh. 17 You must bring out of your houses two loaves made from two-tenths of an ephah. They must be made from fine flour and baked with yeast; they will be a wave offering of the firstfruits to Yahweh. 18 You must present with the bread seven lambs one year old and without blemish, one young bull from the herd, and two rams. They must be a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire and producing a sweet aroma for Yahweh. 19 You must offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice, as fellowship offerings. 20 The priest must wave them together with the bread of the firstfruits before Yahweh, and present them to him as an offering with the two lambs. They will be holy offerings to Yahweh for the priest. 21 You must make a proclamation on that same day. There will be a holy assembly, and you must do no ordinary work. This will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations in all the places where you live.
22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not completely reap the corners of your fields, and you must not gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.'"
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the people of Israel and say, 'In the seventh month, the first day of that month will be a solemn rest for you, a memorial with the blowing of trumpets, and a holy assembly. 25 You must do no ordinary work, and you must offer a sacrifice made by fire to Yahweh.'"
26 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 27 "Now the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly, and you must humble yourselves and present to Yahweh an offering by fire. 28 You must do no work on that day because it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for yourselves before Yahweh your God. 29 Whoever does not humble himself on that day must be cut off from his people. 30 Whoever does any work on that day, I, Yahweh, will destroy him from among his people. 31 You must do no work of any kind on that day. This will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations in all the places where you live. 32 This day must be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you must humble yourselves the ninth day of the month at the evening. From evening to evening you are to observe your Sabbath."
33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 34 "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month will be the Festival of Shelters for Yahweh. It will last seven days. 35 On the first day there must be a holy assembly. You must do no ordinary work. 36 For seven days you must offer a sacrifice made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day there must be a holy assembly, and you must make a sacrifice offered with fire to Yahweh. This is a solemn assembly, and you must not do any ordinary work.
37 These are the appointed festivals for Yahweh, which you must proclaim as holy assemblies to offer sacrifice by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering and a grain offering, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its own day. 38 These festivals will be in addition to the Sabbaths of Yahweh and your gifts, all your vows, and all your freewill offerings that you give to Yahweh.
39 Regarding the Festival of Shelters, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you must keep this festival of Yahweh for seven days. The first day will be a solemn rest, and the eighth day will also be a solemn rest. 40 On the first day you must take the best fruit from the trees, branches of palm trees, and leafy branches of thick trees, and willows from streams, and you will rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days. 41 For seven days each year, you must celebrate this festival for Yahweh. This will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations in all the places where you live. You must celebrate this festival in the seventh month. 42 You must live in small shelters for seven days. All who were born in Israel must live in small shelters for seven days, 43 so that your descendants, generation after generation, may learn how I made the people of Israel live in such shelters when I led them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.'" 44 In this way, Moses announced to the people of Israel the appointed festivals for Yahweh.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil beaten from olives to be used in the lamp, that the light may burn continually. 3 Outside the curtain before the covenant decrees in the tent of meeting, Aaron must continually, from evening to morning, keep the lamp lit before Yahweh. This will be a permanent statute throughout your people's generations. 4 The high priest must always keep the lamps lit before Yahweh, the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold.
5 You must take fine flour and bake twelve loaves with it. There must be two-tenths of an ephah in each loaf. 6 Then you must set them in two rows, six in a row, on the table of pure gold before Yahweh. 7 You must put pure incense along each row of loaves as a representative offering. This incense will be an offering made by fire for Yahweh. 8 Every Sabbath day the high priest must regularly set out the bread before Yahweh on behalf of the people of Israel, as a sign of an everlasting covenant. 9 This offering will be for Aaron and his sons, and they are to eat it in a place that is holy, for it is a portion from the offerings to Yahweh made by fire."
10 Now it happened that the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. This son of the Israelite woman fought against a man of Israel in the camp. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name of Yahweh and cursed God, so the people brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan. 12 They held him in custody until Yahweh himself should declare his will to them.
13 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 14 "Take the man who has cursed God outside the camp. All who heard him must lay their hands on his head, and then the entire assembly must stone him. 15 You must explain to the people of Israel and say, 'Whoever curses his God must carry his own sin. 16 He who blasphemes the name of Yahweh must surely be put to death. All the assembly must certainly stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native-born Israelite. If anyone blasphemes the name of Yahweh, he must be put to death. 17 If anyone strikes down another human being, he must certainly be put to death. 18 If anyone strikes down someone's animal, he must pay it back, life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, it must be done to him as he did to his neighbor: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has caused an injury to a person, so must it also be done to him. 21 Anyone who kills an animal must pay it back, and anyone who kills a person must be put to death. 22 You must have the same law for both the foreigner and the native-born Israelite, for I am Yahweh your God.'" 23 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and the people brought the man outside the camp, the one who had cursed Yahweh. They stoned him with stones. The people of Israel carried out the command of Yahweh to Moses.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you come into the land that I give you, then the land must be made to keep a Sabbath for Yahweh. 3 You must plant your field for six years, and for six years you must prune your vineyard and gather the produce. 4 But in the seventh year, a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land must be observed, a Sabbath for Yahweh. You must not plant your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You must not conduct an organized harvest of whatever grows by itself, and you must not conduct an organized harvest of whatever grapes grow on your unpruned vines. This will be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6 Whatever the unworked land grows during the Sabbath year will be food for you. You, your male and female servants, your hired servants and the foreigners who live with you may gather food, 7 and your livestock and also wild animals may eat whatever the land produces.
8 You must count off seven Sabbaths of years, that is, seven times seven years, so that there will be seven Sabbaths of years, totaling forty-nine years. 9 Then you must blow a loud ram's horn everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you must blow a ram's horn throughout all your land. 10 You must set apart the fiftieth year to Yahweh and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a Jubilee for you, in which property and slaves must be returned to his own clan. 11 The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you. You must not plant or conduct an organized harvest, and you must not gather the grapes that grow on the unpruned vines. 12 For it is a Jubilee, which will be holy for you. You must eat the produce that grows by itself out of the fields.
13 You must return everyone to his own property in this year of Jubilee.
14 If you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any land from your neighbor, you must not cheat or wrong each other. 15 If you buy land from your neighbor, consider the number of years and crops that can be harvested until the next Jubilee. Your neighbor selling the land must consider that also. 16 A larger number of years until the next Jubilee will increase the value of land, and a smaller number of years until the next Jubilee will decrease the value, because the number of harvests the land will produce for the new owner is related to the number of years before the next Jubilee. 17 You must not cheat or wrong one another; instead, you must honor your God, for I am Yahweh your God.
18 Therefore you must obey my decrees, keep my laws, and carry them out. Then you will live in the land in safety. 19 The land will yield its produce, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You might say, "What will we eat during the seventh year? Look, we cannot plant or gather our produce." 21 I will command my blessing to come upon you in the sixth year, and it will produce harvest enough for three years. 22 You will plant in the eighth year and continue to eat from the previous years' produce and the stored food. Until the harvest of the ninth year comes in, you will be able to eat from the provisions stored in the previous years.
23 The land must not be sold to a new permanent owner, because the land is mine. You are all foreigners and sojourners on my land. 24 You must observe the right of redemption for all the land that you acquire; you must allow the land to be bought back by the family from whom you bought it. 25 If your fellow Israelite became poor and for that reason sold some of his property, then his nearest relative must come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no relative to redeem his property, but if he has prospered and has the ability to redeem it, 27 then he may calculate the years since the land was sold and repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it. Then he may return to his own property. 28 But if he is not able to get the land back for himself, then the land he has sold will remain in the ownership of the one who bought it until the year of Jubilee. At the year of Jubilee, the land will be returned to the man who sold it, and the original owner will return to his property.
29 If a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may buy it back within a whole year after it was sold. For a full year he will have the right of redemption. 30 If the house is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city will become the permanent property of the buyer throughout his generations. It is not to be returned in the year of Jubilee. 31 But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them will be considered as the field of the land. They may be redeemed, and they must be returned during the year of Jubilee. 32 As for the cities of the Levites, the houses owned by the Levites in the cities they possess may be redeemed at any time. 33 If one of the Levites does not redeem a house he sold, then the house that was sold in the city where it is located must be returned in the year of Jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their property among the people of Israel. 34 But the fields around their cities may not be sold because they are the permanent property of the Levites.
35 If your fellow countryman becomes poor, so that he can no longer provide for himself, then you must help him as you would help a foreigner or a sojourner so that he may live among you. 36 Do not take from him interest or usury, but honor your God so that your brother may keep living with you. 37 You must not give him a loan of money and charge interest, nor sell him your food to earn a profit. 38 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, in order that I might give you the land of Canaan, and that I might be your God.
39 If your fellow countryman has become poor and sells himself to you, you must not make him work like a slave. 40 Treat him as a hired servant. He must be like a sojourner. He will serve with you until the year of Jubilee. 41 Then he will go away from you, he and his children with him, and he will return to his own clan and to his fathers' property. 42 For they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They will not be sold as slaves. 43 You must not rule over them severely, but you must honor your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves, whom you can obtain from the nations who live around you, you may buy slaves from them. 45 You may also buy slaves from the foreigners who are living among you and from their clans who are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may become your property. 46 You may provide such slaves as an inheritance for your children after you, to hold as property, and make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your brothers among the people of Israel severely.
47 If a foreigner or someone living temporarily with you has become wealthy, and if one of your fellow Israelites has become poor and sells himself to that foreigner, or to a member of a foreigner's clan, 48 after your fellow Israelite has been bought, he may be bought back. Someone in his family may redeem him. 49 It might be the person's uncle, or his uncle's son, who redeems him, or anyone who is in his clan. Or, if he has become prosperous, he may redeem himself. 50 He must bargain with the man who bought him; they must count the years from the year he sold himself to his purchaser until the year of Jubilee. The price of his redemption must be figured in keeping with the rate paid to a hired servant, for the number of years he might continue to work for the one who bought him. 51 If there are still many years until the year of Jubilee, he must pay back as the price for his redemption an amount of money that is in proportion to the number of those years. 52 If there are only a few years to the year of Jubilee, then he must bargain with his purchaser to reflect the number of years left before the year of Jubilee, and he must pay for his redemption in keeping with the number of years. 53 He is to be to the purchaser like a man hired year by year. The purchaser is not to rule over him severely. 54 If he is not redeemed by these means, then he must serve until the year of Jubilee, he and his children with him. 55 To me the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.'"
1 "You must make no idols, and you must not lift up a carved figure or a sacred stone pillar, and you must not place any carved stone image in your land to which you bow down, for I am Yahweh your God. 2 You must keep my Sabbaths and honor my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.
3 If you walk in my laws and keep my commandments and obey them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season; the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will extend to the planting season. You will eat your bread to the full and live safely where you make your home in the land. 6 I will give peace in the land; you will lie down with nothing to make you afraid. I will take the dangerous animals away from the land, and the sword will not pass through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you will chase away a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand; your enemies will fall before you by the sword. 9 I will look at you with favor and make you fruitful and multiply you; I will establish my covenant with you. 10 You will eat food stored a long time. You will have to bring out the stored food because you will need the room for the new harvest. 11 I will place my tabernacle among you, and I will not detest you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you to walk standing up straight.
14 But if you will not listen to me, and will not obey all these commandments, 15 and if you reject my decrees and detest my laws, so that you will not obey all my commandments, but break my covenant— 16 if you do these things, then I will do this to you: I will inflict terror on you, diseases and fever that will destroy the eyes and will drain away your life. You will plant your seeds in vain, because your enemies will eat their produce. 17 I will set my face against you, and you will be overpowered by your enemies. Men who hate you will rule over you, and you will run away, even when no one is chasing you. 18 If after all this you do not listen to me, then I will punish you seven times as severely for your sins. 19 I will break your pride in your power. I will make the sky over you like iron and your land like bronze. 20 Your strength will be used up in vain, because your land will not produce its harvest, and your trees in the land will not produce their fruit.
21 If you walk against me and will not listen to me, I will bring seven times more blows on you, in proportion to your sins. 22 I will send wild animals against you, which will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you so few in number that your roads will be desolate.
23 If in spite of these things you still do not accept my correction and you continue to walk in opposition to me, 24 then I will also walk in opposition to you, and I myself will punish you seven times because of your sins. 25 I will bring a sword on you that will execute vengeance for breaking the covenant. You will be gathered together inside your cities, and I will send a plague among you there, and then you will be delivered into the hand of your enemy. 26 When I cut off your staff of food, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will distribute your bread by weight. You will eat but not be satisfied.
27 If you do not listen to me despite these things, but continue to walk against me, 28 then I will walk against you in anger, and I will punish you even seven more times as much for your sins. 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons; you will eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and throw your corpses on the corpses of your idols, and I myself will abhor you. 31 I will turn your cities into ruins and destroy your sacred places. I will not be pleased with the aroma of your offerings. 32 I will devastate the land. Your enemies who will live there will be shocked at the devastation. 33 I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out my sword and follow you. Your land will be devastated, and your cities will be ruined.
34 Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths for as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' lands. During that time, the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate, it will have rest, which will be the rest that it did not have with your Sabbaths, when you lived in it.
36 As for those of you who are left in your enemies' lands, I will send fear into your hearts so that even the sound of a leaf blowing in the wind will startle you, and you will flee as though you were fleeing from the sword. You will fall, even when no one is chasing you. 37 You will stumble over each other as though you were running from the sword, even though no one is chasing you. You will have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 You will perish among the nations, and your enemies' land will itself devour you. 39 Those who are left among you will waste away in their iniquity, there in your enemies' lands, and because of their fathers' iniquities they will waste away as well.
40 Yet if they confess their iniquity and their fathers' iniquity, and the unfaithfulness that they committed against me, and also their walking against me— 41 which caused me to turn against them and I brought them into the land of their enemies—if their uncircumcised hearts become humbled, and if they accept the punishment for their sins, 42 then will I call to mind my covenant with Jacob, my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham; also, I will call the land to mind. 43 The land will be abandoned by them, so it will be pleased with its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will have to pay the penalty for their iniquity because they themselves rejected my decrees and detested my laws. 44 Yet despite all this, when they are in their enemies' land, I will not reject them, neither will I detest them so as to completely destroy them and do away with my covenant with them, for I am Yahweh their God. 45 But for their sakes I will call to mind the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, so that I might be their God. I am Yahweh."
46 These are the commandments, decrees, and laws that Yahweh made between himself and the people of Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'If anyone makes a special vow to Yahweh, use the following valuations. 3 Your standard value for a male from twenty to sixty years old must be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 For a female of the same ages your standard value must be thirty shekels. 5 From five years to twenty years old your standard value for a male must be twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 From one month old to five years your standard value for a male must be five shekels of silver, and for a female three shekels of silver. 7 From sixty years old and up for a male your standard value must be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. 8 But if the person making the vow cannot pay the standard value, then the person being given must be presented to the priest, and the priest will value that person by the amount the one making the vow is able to afford.
9 If what is vowed is an animal that people can give as an offering to Yahweh, any part of that animal that is given to Yahweh becomes holy. 10 The person must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad for a good one. If he substitutes one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 However, if what is vowed is an unclean animal that people cannot give as an offering to Yahweh, then the person must bring the animal to the priest. 12 The priest will value it, by the market value of the animal. Whatever value the priest places on the animal, that will be its value. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem it, then a fifth of its value is to be added to its redemption price.
14 When a man sets apart his house as a holy gift to Yahweh, then the priest will set its value as either good or bad. Whatever the priest values it, so it will be. 15 But if the owner who set apart his home wishes to redeem it, he must add a fifth of its value to its redemption price, and it will belong to him.
16 If a man sets apart to Yahweh some of the fields of his property, then the valuation of it will be in proportion to the amount of seed required to plant it—a homer of barley will be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sets apart his field during the year of Jubilee, the valuation of it will stand. 18 But if he sets apart his field after the year of Jubilee, then the priest must calculate the value of the field by the number of years that remain until the next year of Jubilee, and the valuation of it must be reduced. 19 If the man who set apart the field wishes to redeem it, then he must add a fifth to the valuation, and it will belong to him. 20 If he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it cannot be redeemed any more. 21 Rather, the field, when it is released in the year of Jubilee, will be a holy gift to Yahweh, like the field that has been completely given to Yahweh. It will belong to the priest. 22 If a man sets apart a field that he has bought, but that field is not part of his family's land, 23 then the priest will figure the valuation of it up to the year of Jubilee, and the man must pay its value on that day as a holy gift to Yahweh. 24 In the year of Jubilee, the field will return to the man from whom it was bought, to the one whose property the land is. 25 All the valuations must be set by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. Twenty gerahs must be the equivalent of one shekel.
26 No one may set apart the firstborn among animals, since the firstborn already belongs to Yahweh; whether ox or sheep, it is Yahweh's. 27 If it is an unclean animal, then the owner may buy it back at the valuation of it, and a fifth must be added to that value. If the animal is not redeemed, then it is to be sold at the set value.
28 But nothing that a man devotes to Yahweh, from all that he has, whether man or animal, or his family land, may be sold or redeemed. Everything that is devoted is very holy to Yahweh. 29 No ransom may be paid for the person who is devoted for destruction. That person must be put to death.
30 All the tithe of the land, whether grain grown on the land or fruit from the trees, is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth to its value. 32 As for every tenth of the herd or the flock, whatever passes under the shepherd's rod, one-tenth must be set apart to Yahweh. 33 The shepherd must not search for the better or the worse animals, and he must not substitute one for another. If he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed will be holy. It cannot be redeemed.'"
34 These are the commandments that Yahweh gave at Mount Sinai to Moses for the people of Israel.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the wilderness of Sinai. This happened on the first day of the second month during the second year after the people of Israel had come out from the land of Egypt. Yahweh said, 2 "Conduct a census of the whole congregation of the men of Israel by their clans, by their ancestral households. Number them by name. Count all the males man by man, 3 who is twenty years old or older. Count all who can fight as soldiers for Israel. You and Aaron must record the number of men in their armed groups. 4 A man from each tribe, a clan head, must serve with you as his tribe's leader. Each leader must lead the men who will fight for his ancestors' household. 5 These are the names of the leaders who must fight with you:
From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6 from the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7 from the tribe of Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8 from the tribe of Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9 from the tribe of Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
10 from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph, Elishama son of Ammihud;
from the tribe of Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11 from the tribe of Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Pagiel son of Okran;
14 from the tribe of Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15 and from the tribe of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan."
16 These were the men appointed from the people. They led their ancestors' tribes. They were the leaders of the clans in Israel. 17 Moses and Aaron took these men, who were recorded by name, 18 and they assembled the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The men twenty years old and older registered their ancestry by name, by their clans, by their ancestral households. They were numbered man by man. 19 Then Moses recorded their numbers in the wilderness of Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him to do.
20 From the descendants of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted man by man. 21 They counted 46,500 men from the tribe of Reuben.
22 From the descendants of Simeon, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the mustered men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted man by man. 23 They counted 59,300 men from the tribe of Simeon.
24 From the descendants of Gad, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 25 They counted 45,650 men from the tribe of Gad.
26 From the descendants of Judah, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 27 They counted 74,600 men from the tribe of Judah.
28 From the descendants of Issachar, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 29 They counted 54,400 men from the tribe of Issachar.
30 From the descendants of Zebulun, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 31 They counted 57,400 men from the tribe of Zebulun.
32 From the descendants of Ephraim son of Joseph, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 33 They counted 40,500 men from the tribe of Ephraim.
34 From the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 35 They counted 32,200 men from the tribe of Manasseh.
36 From the descendants of Benjamin, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 37 They counted 35,400 men from the tribe of Benjamin.
38 From the descendants of Dan, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 39 They counted 62,700 from the tribe of Dan.
40 From the descendants of Asher, from the records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 41 They counted 41,500 men from the tribe of Asher.
42 From the descendants of Naphtali, from the genealogical records, by their clans, by their ancestral households, the names of all the men twenty years old or older, able to go to war, were counted. 43 They counted 53,400 from the tribe of Naphtali.
44 Moses and Aaron counted all these men, together with the twelve men who were leading Israel, each from his ancestor's household. 45 So all the men of Israel from twenty years old and older, all who could fight in war, were counted in each of their ancestral households. 46 They counted 603,550 men.
47 But the Levites were not counted according to their ancestors' tribes 48 because Yahweh had said to Moses, 49 "You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the total of the people of Israel. 50 Rather, assign the Levites to care for the tabernacle of the covenant decrees, and to care for all the furnishings in the tabernacle and for everything in it. The Levites must carry the tabernacle, and they must carry the tabernacle's furnishings. They must care for the tabernacle and make their camp around it. 51 When the tabernacle is to move to another place, the Levites must take it down. When the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites must set it up. Any stranger who comes near the tabernacle must be killed. 52 When the people of Israel set up their tents, each man must do so near the banner that belongs to his armed group. 53 However, the Levites must set up their tents around the tabernacle of the covenant decrees so that my anger does not come upon the people of Israel. The Levites must perform the duties of the tabernacle of the covenant decrees." 54 The people of Israel did all these things. They did everything that Yahweh commanded through Moses.
1 Yahweh spoke again to Moses and Aaron. He said, 2 "Each one of the people of Israel must camp around his standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses. They will camp around the tent of meeting on every side. 3 Those will be camping on the east of the tent of meeting, where the sun rises, they are the camp of Judah by their armed groups, and they are camping under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab is the leader of the people of Judah. 4 The number of the host of the people of Judah is 74,600. 5 The tribe of Issachar must camp next to Judah. Nethanel son of Zuar must lead the army of Issachar. 6 The number of the host of the people of Issachar is 54,400 men. 7 The tribe of Zebulun must camp next to Issachar. Eliab son of Helon must lead the army of Zebulun. 8 The number of the host of the people of Zebulun is 57,400. 9 All the number of the camp of Judah is 186,400. They will set out first.
10 On the south side will be the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the camp of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur. 11 The number of the host of the people of Reuben is 46,500. 12 Simeon is camping next to Reuben. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 13 The number of the host of the people of Simeon is 59,300. 14 The tribe of Gad is next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel. 15 The number of the host of the people of Gad is 45,650. 16 The number of all the men assigned to the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, is 151,450. They will set out second.
17 Next, the tent of meeting must go out from the camp with the Levites in the middle of all the camps. They must go out from the camp in the same order as they come into the camp. Every man must be in his place, by his banner.
18 On the west side will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud. 19 The number of the host of the people of Ephraim is 40,500. 20 Next to them is the tribe of Manasseh. The leader of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 21 The number of the host of the people of Manasseh is 32,200. 22 Next will be the tribe of Benjamin. The leader of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni. 23 The number of the host of the people of Benjamin is 35,400. 24 All those numbered in the camp of Ephraim is 108,100. They will set out third.
25 On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 The number the host of the people of Dan is 62,700. 27 The people of the tribe of Asher camp next to Dan. The leader of Asher is Pagiel son of Okran. 28 The number the host of the people of Asher is 41,500. 29 The tribe of Naphtali is next. The leader of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan. 30 The number of the host of the people of Naphtali is 53,400. 31 All those numbered in the camp with Dan is 157,600. They will go out from the camp last, under their banner."
32 These are the descendants of Israel, numbered according to their ancestral households. All those counted in their camps, by their divisions, are 603,550. 33 But the Levites were not counted along with the people of Israel, as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
34 The people of Israel did everything that Yahweh commanded Moses. They camped by their banners. They went out from the camp by their clans, in the order of their ancestor's households.
1 Now this is the history of the descendants of Aaron and Moses when Yahweh spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 The names of Aaron's sons were Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed and who were ordained to serve as priests. 4 But Nadab and Abihu fell dead before Yahweh when they offered to him unacceptable fire in the wilderness of Sinai. Nadab and Abihu had no children, so just Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with Aaron their father.
5 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 6 "Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest for them to help him. 7 They must perform the duties on behalf of Aaron and the whole community before the tent of meeting. They must serve in the tabernacle. 8 They must care for all the furnishings in the tent of meeting, and they must help the tribes of Israel to carry out the tabernacle service. 9 You must give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are wholly given to help him serve the people of Israel. 10 You must appoint Aaron and his sons as priests, but any foreigner who comes near must be put to death."
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 12 "Look, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel. I have done this instead of taking each firstborn, who opens the womb, from among the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me, 13 for all the firstborn belong to me. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both men and animals. They belong to me. I am Yahweh."
14 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai. He said, 15 "Count the descendants of Levi in each family, in their clans. Count every male who is one month old and older." 16 Moses counted them, following the word of Yahweh, just as he was commanded to do.
17 The names of the sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
18 These are the names of the sons of Gershon, by their clans: Libni and Shimei.
19 The sons of Kohath, by their clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
20 The sons of Merari, by their clans: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, listed clan by clan.
21 The clans of the Libnites and the Shimeites come from Gershon. These are the clans of the Gershonites. 22 All the males from a month old and older were counted, totaling 7,500. 23 The clans of the Gershonites must camp on the west side of the tabernacle. 24 Eliasaph son of Lael must lead the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites. 25 The family of Gershon must care for the tent of meeting including the tabernacle. They must care for the tent, its covering, and the curtain used as the entrance to the tent of meeting. 26 They must care for the courtyard hangings, the curtain at the courtyard entrance—the courtyard that surrounds the sanctuary and the altar. They must care for the ropes of the tent of meeting and for everything in it.
27 These clans come from Kohath: the clan of the Amramites, the clan of the Izharites, the clan of the Hebronites, and the clan of the Uzzielites. These clans belong to the Kohathites. 28 8,600 males have been counted aged one month old and older to perform the duties of the sanctuary. 29 The Kohath clans must camp on the south side of the tabernacle. 30 Elizaphan son of Uzziel must lead the ancestral households of the Kohathites. 31 They must care for the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the holy things that are used in their service, the curtain, and all the work around it. 32 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest must lead the men who lead the Levites. He must supervise the men who perform the duties of the holy place.
33 Two clans have come from Merari: the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites. These clans have come from Merari. 34 6,200 males have been counted aged one month old and older. 35 Zuriel son of Abihail must lead the ancestral households of Merari. They must camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 The descendants of Merari must care for the framing of the tabernacle, the crossbars, posts, bases, all the hardware, and everything related to them, including 37 the pillars and posts of the courtyard that surround the tabernacle, with their sockets, pegs, and ropes.
38 Moses and Aaron and his sons must camp on the east side of the tabernacle, in front of the tent of meeting, toward the sunrise. They are responsible for performing the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the people of Israel. Any foreigner who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death.
39 Moses and Aaron counted all the males in the clans of Levi who were aged one month old and older, just as Yahweh commanded. They counted twenty-two thousand men.
40 Yahweh said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn males of the people of Israel who are aged one month old and older. List their names. 41 You must take the Levites for me—I am Yahweh—instead of all the firstborn of the people of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of the firstborn of the livestock of the descendants of Israel." 42 Moses counted all the firstborn people of Israel as Yahweh had commanded him to do. 43 He counted all the firstborn males by name, aged one month old and older. He counted 22,273 men.
44 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 45 "Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and take the Levites' livestock instead of the people's livestock. The Levites belong to me—I am Yahweh. 46 For the redemption of the 273 firstborn sons of Israel who exceed the number of the Levites 47 you must collect five shekels for each of them. You must use the shekel of the sanctuary as your standard weight. The shekel equals twenty gerahs. 48 You must give the redemption money that you paid to Aaron and his sons." 49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number of those redeemed by the Levites. 50 Moses collected the money from the firstborn of the people of Israel. He collected 1,365 shekels, weighing with the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and to his sons. Moses did everything he was told to do by Yahweh's word, as Yahweh had commanded him.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said, 2 "Conduct a census of the male descendants of Kohath from among the Levites, by their clans and ancestral households. 3 Count all the men who are thirty to fifty years old. These men must join the company to serve in the tent of meeting. 4 The descendants of Kohath must take care of the most holy things reserved for me in the tent of meeting. 5 When the camp prepares to move forward, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent, take down the screening curtain that separates the most holy place from the holy place and cover the ark of the testimony with it. 6 They must cover the ark with a piece of fine leather. They must spread a cloth that is completely blue over it. They must insert the poles to carry it. 7 They are to spread a blue cloth on the table of the bread of the presence. On it they must put the dishes, spoons, bowls, and jars for the drink offering. Bread must always continue to be on the table. 8 They are to spread over them a scarlet cloth and cover the same with hides of fine leather. They must insert poles to carry the table. 9 They must take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand, along with its lamps, tongs, trays, and all the jars of oil for the lamps. 10 They must put the lampstand and all its accessories into a covering of fine leather, and they must put it on a carrying frame. 11 They must spread a cloth of blue on the gold altar. They must cover it with a covering of fine leather, and then insert the carrying poles. 12 They must take all the equipment for the ministry, with which they serve in the sanctuary, and wrap it in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the hides of fine leather and put the equipment on the carrying frame. 13 They must clear away the ashes of fat from the altar and spread a purple cloth on the altar. 14 They must put on the carrying frame all the equipment that they use in the work of the altar. These objects are the firepans, forks, shovels, bowls, and all the other equipment for the altar. They must cover the altar with fine leather hides and then insert the carrying poles. 15 When Aaron and his sons have completely covered the holy place and all its equipment, and when the camp moves forward, then the descendants of Kohath must come to carry the holy place. If they touch the holy instruments, they must die. This is the work of the descendants of Kohath, to carry the furnishings in the tent of meeting. 16 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest oversees the care of the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the regular grain offering, and the anointing oil. He oversees the care of the entire tabernacle and all that is in it, the holy place and its equipment."
17 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said, 18 "Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be cut off from among the Levites. 19 So do this for them that they may live and not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons must go in, and assign each man to his work and his responsibility. 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy place, even for a moment, or they must die."
21 Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said, 22 "Conduct a census of the descendants of Gershon also, by their ancestor's families and by their clans. 23 Count those who are thirty years old to fifty years old. Count all of them who will join the company to serve in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the work of the clans of the Gershonites, when they serve and what they carry. 25 They must carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, its covering, the covering of fine leather hides that is on it, and the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting. 26 They must carry the curtains of the court, the curtain for the doorway of the court's gate, which is near the tabernacle and near the altar, their ropes, and all the instruments for their service. Whatever should be done with these things, they must do it. 27 Aaron and his sons must direct all the service of the descendants of the Gershonites, in everything that they transport, and in all their service. You must assign them to all their responsibilities. 28 This is the service of the clans of the descendants of the Gershonites for the tent of meeting. Ithamar son of Aaron the priest must lead them in their service.
29 You must count the descendants of Merari by their clans, and order them by their ancestor's families, 30 from thirty years old and older up to fifty years old. Count everyone who is going to join the company and serve in the tent of meeting. 31 This is their responsibility and their burden in all their service for the tent of meeting. They must care for the framing of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, and sockets, 32 along with the posts of the courtyard around the tabernacle, their sockets, pegs, and their ropes, with all their hardware. List by name the articles they must carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the descendants of Merari, what they are to do for the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest."
34 Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the descendants of the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestor's families. 35 They counted them from thirty years old and older up to fifty years old. They counted everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting. 36 They counted 2,750 men by their clans. 37 This was the list of the clans of the Kohathites who served in the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to Yahweh's command that was given through Moses.
38 The descendants of Gershon were counted in their clans, by their ancestor's families, 39 from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting. 40 All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 2,630. 41 Moses and Aaron counted the clans of the descendants of Gershon who would serve in the tent of meeting. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.
42 The descendants of Merari were counted in their clans by their ancestor's families, 43 from thirty to fifty years old, everyone who would join the company to serve in the tent of meeting. 44 All the men, counted by their clans and their ancestor's families, numbered 3,200. 45 This was the list of the clans of the descendants of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to Yahweh's command that came by the hand of Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron, and the chiefs of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans in their ancestral families 47 from thirty to fifty years old. They counted everyone who would do work in the tabernacle, and who would carry and care for the items in the tent of meeting. 48 They counted 8,580 men. 49 At Yahweh's command, Moses counted each man, keeping count of each by the type of work he was assigned to do. He counted each man by the kind of responsibility he would bear. In doing this, they obeyed what Yahweh had commanded them to do through Moses.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Command the people of Israel to send away from the camp every leper, everyone who has an oozing sore, and whoever is unclean through touching a dead body. 3 Whether male or female, you must send them out of the camp. They must not defile the camp, because I live in it." 4 The people of Israel did so. They sent them out of the camp, as Yahweh commanded Moses. The people of Israel obeyed Yahweh.
5 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 6 "Speak to the people of Israel. When a man or woman commits any sin such as people do to one another, and is unfaithful to me, that person is guilty. 7 Then he must confess the sin that he has done. He must completely pay back the price of his guilt and add to the price one-fifth more. He must give this to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the wronged person has no close relative to receive the payment, he must pay the price for his guilt to me through a priest, along with a ram to atone for himself. 9 Every contribution, everything the people of Israel have set apart, which they have brought to the priest, will belong to him. 10 The offerings of every person will be for the priest; if anyone gives anything to the priest, it will belong to him."
11 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 12 "Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'Suppose that a man's wife turns away and is unfaithful to her husband. 13 If a man lies with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and her impurity is undetected even though she defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not caught in the act, 14 nevertheless, a spirit of jealousy might still inform the husband that his wife is defiled. However, a spirit of jealousy might falsely come on a man when his wife is not defiled. 15 In such cases, the man must bring his wife to the priest. The husband must take an offering required on her behalf, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He must pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembering, as a reminder of the iniquity.
16 The priest must bring her near and place her before Yahweh. 17 The priest must take a jar of holy water and take dust from the floor of the tabernacle. He must put the dust into the water. 18 The priest will set the woman before Yahweh and he will untie the hair on the woman's head. He will put into her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest will hold in his hand the bitter water that can bring a curse. 19 The priest will put the woman under an oath and say to her, 'If no other man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray and committed uncleanness, then you will be free from this bitter water that can bring a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority and you have defiled yourself, and some other man has had sexual relations with you, 21 then, (the priest must cause the woman to swear an oath that can bring down a curse on her, and then he must continue speaking to the woman) 'Yahweh will make you into a curse that will be shown to your people to be such. This will happen if Yahweh causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell. 22 This water that brings the curse will go into your stomach and make your abdomen swell and your thighs waste away.' The woman is to reply, 'Amen. Amen.'
23 The priest must write these curses on a scroll, and then he must wash away the written curses into the bitter water. 24 The priest must make the woman drink the bitter water that brings the curse. The water that brings the curse will enter her and become bitter. 25 The priest must take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand. He must hold up the grain offering before Yahweh and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest must take a handful of the grain offering as a representative offering, and burn it on the altar. Then he must give the woman the bitter water to drink. 27 When he gives her the water to drink, if she is defiled because she has committed a sin against her husband, then the water that brings the curse will enter her and become bitter. Her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away. The woman will be cursed among her people. 28 But if the woman is not defiled and if she is clean, then she must be free. She will be able to conceive children.
29 This is the law of jealousy. It is the law for a woman who goes astray from her husband and is defiled. 30 It is the law for a man with a spirit of jealousy when he is jealous of his wife. He must bring the woman before Yahweh, and the priest must do to her everything that this law of jealousy describes. 31 The man will be free from guilt for bringing his wife to the priest. The woman must bear any guilt she might have."
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'When a man or a woman consecrates himself to Yahweh with the special vow of a Nazirite, 3 he must abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from strong drink. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 In all the days of his consecration, he must eat nothing that is made from the grape vine, including everything from the seeds to the skins.
5 During all the time of his vow of consecration, no razor is to be used on his head until the days of his consecration to Yahweh are fulfilled. He must be set apart to Yahweh. He must let the hair grow long on his head.
6 During all the time that he sets himself apart to Yahweh, he must not come near a dead body. 7 He must not make himself unclean even for his father, mother, brother, or sister, if they die. This is because he is consecrated to God, as everyone can see by his long hair. 8 During all the time of his consecration he is holy, reserved for Yahweh.
9 If someone very suddenly dies beside him and defiles his consecrated head, then he must shave his head on the day of his purification—on the seventh day he must shave it. 10 On the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 11 The priest must offer one bird as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. These will atone for him because he sinned by being near the dead body. He must consecrate his head again on that day. 12 He must set himself apart to Yahweh for the days of his consecration. He must bring a male lamb one year old as a guilt offering. The days before he defiled himself must not be counted, because his consecration was defiled.
13 This is the law about the Nazirite for when the time of his consecration is complete. He must be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 14 He must present his offering to Yahweh. He must offer as a burnt offering a male lamb one year old and without blemish. He must bring as a sin offering a female lamb one year old and without blemish. He must bring a ram as a fellowship offering that is without blemish. 15 He must also bring a basket of bread made without yeast, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, wafers without yeast rubbed with oil, together with their grain offering and drink offerings. 16 The priest must present them before Yahweh. He must offer his sin offering and burnt offering. 17 With the basket of unleavened bread, he must present the ram as a sacrifice, the fellowship offering to Yahweh. The priest must present also the grain offering and the drink offering. 18 The Nazirite must shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He must take the hair from his head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of fellowship offerings. 19 The priest must take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one loaf of bread without yeast out of the basket, and one wafer without yeast. He must place them into the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair. 20 The priest must wave them as an offering before Yahweh, a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was the contribution for the priest. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
21 This is the law for the Nazirite who vows his offering to Yahweh for his consecration. Whatever else he may give, he must keep the obligations of the vow he has taken, to keep the promise indicated by the law of his consecration.'"
22 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 23 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons. Say, 'You must bless the people of Israel in this way. You must say to them,
24 "May Yahweh bless you
and keep you.
25 May Yahweh make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you.
26 May Yahweh look on you with favor
and give you peace."'
27 It is in this way that they must give my name to the people of Israel. Then I will bless them."
1 On the day that Moses completed the tabernacle, he anointed it and set it apart to Yahweh, together with all of its furnishings. He did the same for the altar and all its utensils. He anointed them and set them apart to Yahweh. 2 On that day, the leaders of Israel, the heads of their ancestor's families, offered sacrifices. These men were leading the tribes. They had overseen the counting of the men in the census. 3 They brought their offerings before Yahweh. They brought six covered carts and twelve oxen. They brought one cart for every two leaders, and each leader brought one ox. They presented these things in front of the tabernacle. 4 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 5 "Accept the offerings from them and use the offerings for the work in the tent of meeting. Give the offerings to the Levites, to each one as his work needs them." 6 Moses took the carts and the oxen, and he gave them to the Levites. 7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the descendants of Gershon, because of what their work needed. 8 He gave four carts and eight oxen to the descendants of Merari, in the care of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. He did this because of what their work required. 9 But he gave none of those things to the descendants of Kohath, because theirs would be the work related to the things that belong to Yahweh that they would carry on their own shoulders. 10 The leaders offered their goods for the dedication of the altar on the day that Moses anointed the altar. The leaders offered their sacrifices in front of the altar. 11 Yahweh said to Moses, "Each leader must offer on his own day his sacrifice for the dedication of the altar."
12 On the first day, Nahshon son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah, offered his sacrifice.
13 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 14 He gave one gold dish that weighed ten shekels and was full of incense. 15 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 16 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 17 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Nahshon son of Amminadab.
18 On the second day, Nethanel son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, offered his sacrifice.
19 He offered as his sacrifice one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 20 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 21 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 22 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 23 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Nethanel son of Zuar.
24 On the third day, Eliab son of Helon, leader of the descendants of Zebulun, offered his sacrifice.
25 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 26 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 27 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 28 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 29 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Eliab son of Helon.
30 On the fourth day, Elizur son of Shedeur, leader of the descendants of Reuben, offered his sacrifice.
31 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 32 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 33 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 34 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 35 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Elizur son of Shedeur.
36 On the fifth day, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, leader of the descendants of Simeon, offered his sacrifice.
37 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 38 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 39 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 40 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 41 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
42 On the sixth day, Eliasaph son of Deuel, leader of the descendants of Gad, offered his sacrifice.
43 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 44 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 45 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 46 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 47 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Eliasaph son of Deuel.
48 On the seventh day, Elishama son of Ammihud, leader of the descendants of Ephraim, offered his sacrifice.
49 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 50 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 51 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 52 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 53 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Elishama son of Ammihud.
54 On the eighth day, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, leader of the descendants of Manasseh, offered his sacrifice.
55 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 56 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 57 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 58 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 59 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
60 On the ninth day, Abidan son of Gideoni, leader of the descendants of Benjamin, offered his sacrifice.
61 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 62 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 63 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 64 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 65 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Abidan son of Gideoni.
66 On the tenth day, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, leader of the descendants of Dan, offered his sacrifice.
67 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 68 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 69 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb.. 70 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 71 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
72 On the eleventh day, Pagiel son of Okran, leader of the descendants of Asher, offered his sacrifice.
73 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 74 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 75 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 76 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 77 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Pagiel son of Okran.
78 On the twelfth day, Ahira son of Enan, leader of the descendants of Naphtali, offered his sacrifice.
79 His sacrifice was one silver platter weighing 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. Both of these objects were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering. 80 He also gave one gold dish weighing ten shekels, full of incense. 81 He gave as a burnt offering one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old male lamb. 82 He gave one male goat as a sin offering. 83 He gave two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs that were a year old, as the sacrifice for a fellowship offering. This was the sacrifice of Ahira son of Enan.
84 This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day that it was anointed: the chiefs of Israel set apart the twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, and twelve gold dishes. 85 Each silver platter weighed 130 shekels and each bowl weighed seventy shekels. All the silver vessels weighed 2,400 shekels, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. 86 Each of the twelve gold dishes, full of incense, weighed ten shekels by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. All the gold dishes weighed 120 shekels. 87 They set apart all the animals for the burnt offerings, twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve year-old male lambs. They gave their grain offering. They gave twelve male goats as a sin offering. 88 From all their cattle, they gave twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, and sixty male lambs a year old, as the sacrifice for the fellowship offering. This was for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.
89 When Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Yahweh, he heard his voice speaking to him. Yahweh spoke to him from above the atonement lid on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. He spoke to him.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Speak to Aaron. Say to him, 'The seven lamps must give light in front of the lampstand when you light them.'" 3 Aaron did this. He lit the lamps on the lampstand to give light toward the front of it, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 4 The lampstand was made in this way and Yahweh showed Moses the pattern for it. It was to be hammered gold from its base to its top, with hammered cups like blossoms.
5 Again, Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 6 "Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and purify them. 7 Do this to them to purify them: Sprinkle the water of atonement on them. Make them shave their entire body, wash their clothes, and purify themselves. 8 Then have them take a young bull and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil. Let them take another young bull as a sin offering. 9 You will bring the Levites in front of the tent of meeting and assemble the whole community of the people of Israel. 10 When you bring the Levites before Yahweh, the people of Israel must lay their hands on the Levites. 11 Aaron must offer the Levites before Yahweh, as a wave offering from the people of Israel so that they may do the service of Yahweh. 12 The Levites must place their hands on the heads of the bulls. You must offer one bull for a sin offering and the other bull for a burnt offering to me, to atone for the Levites. 13 Present the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and lift them up as a wave offering to me.
14 In this way you must separate the Levites from among the people of Israel. The Levites will belong to me. 15 After that, the Levites must go in to serve in the tent of meeting. You must purify them. You must offer them as a wave offering. 16 Do this, because they are entirely mine from among the people of Israel. They will take the place of each firstborn, the first issue of the womb, of all the descendants of Israel. I have taken the Levites for myself. 17 All the firstborn from among the people of Israel are mine, both man or animal. On the day that I took the lives of all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set them apart for myself. 18 I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of all the firstborn. 19 I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons. I have taken them from among the people of Israel to do the work of the people of Israel in the tent of meeting. I have given them to atone for the people of Israel so that no plague will harm the people when they come near to the holy place."
20 Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of the people of Israel did this with the Levites. They did everything that Yahweh had commanded Moses concerning the Levites. The people of Israel did this with them. 21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothing, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering to Yahweh and he made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 After that, the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before Aaron's sons. This was as Yahweh had commanded Moses about the Levites. They treated all the Levites in this way.
23 Yahweh spoke again to Moses. He said, 24 "All of this is for the Levites who are twenty-five years old and more. They must join the company to serve in the tent of meeting. 25 They must stop serving in this way at the age of fifty years. At that age they must not serve any longer. 26 They may help their brothers who continue to work at the tent of meeting, to perform their duties, but they must serve no more. This is how you must deal with the Levites in all their responsibilities."
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they came out from the land of Egypt. He said, 2 "Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its fixed time of year. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you must keep the Passover at its fixed time of year. You must keep it, follow all the regulations, and obey all the decrees that are related to it." 4 So, Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Festival of the Passover. 5 So they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. The people of Israel obeyed everything that Yahweh commanded Moses to do. 6 There were certain men who became unclean by the body of a dead man. They could not keep the Passover on that day. They went before Moses and Aaron on that same day. 7 Those men said to Moses, "We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why do you keep us from offering the sacrifice to Yahweh at the fixed time of year among the people of Israel?" 8 Moses said to them, "Wait for me to hear what Yahweh will instruct about you."
9 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 10 "Speak to the people of Israel. Say, 'If any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body, or are on a long journey, he may still keep the Passover to Yahweh.' 11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at evening, they will eat the Passover meal. They must eat the Passover lamb with bread that is made without yeast and with bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it until the morning, or break any of its bones. They must follow all the regulations for the Passover. 13 But any person who is clean and is not on a journey, but who fails to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not bring the offering that Yahweh requires at the fixed time of year. That man must carry his sin. 14 If a stranger lives among you and keeps the Passover to Yahweh, he must keep it according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule. You must have one statute both for the sojourner and for the one who was born in the land."
15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant decrees. At evening the cloud was over the tabernacle. It appeared like fire until morning. 16 It continued that way. The cloud covered the tabernacle and appeared like fire at night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, the people of Israel would set out on their journey. Wherever the cloud stopped, the people would camp. 18 At Yahweh's command, the people of Israel would travel, and at his command, they would camp. While the cloud stopped over the tabernacle, they would stay in their camp. 19 When the cloud remained on the tabernacle for many days, then the people of Israel would obey Yahweh's instructions and not travel. 20 Sometimes the cloud remained a few days on the tabernacle. In that case, they would obey Yahweh's command—they would make camp and then travel on again at his command. 21 Sometimes the cloud was present in camp from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they journeyed. If it continued for a day and for a night, only when the cloud lifted would they journey on. 22 Whether the cloud stayed on the tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, for as long as it stayed there, the people of Israel would stay in their camp and not travel. But whenever the cloud was taken up, they would set out on their journey. 23 They would camp at Yahweh's command, and they would travel at his command. They obeyed Yahweh's command given through Moses.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Make two silver trumpets. Hammer the silver to make them. You must use the trumpets to call the community together and to call the community to move their camps. 3 The priests must blow the trumpets to call all the community together in front of you at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 4 If the priests blow only one trumpet, then the leaders, the heads of the clans of Israel, must gather to you. 5 When you blow a loud signal, the tribes camped on the east side must begin their journey. 6 When you blow a loud signal the second time, the tribes camped on the south side must begin their journey. They must blow a loud signal for their journeys. 7 When the community gathers together, blow the trumpets, but not loudly. 8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets. This will always be an ordinance for you throughout your people's generations. 9 When you go to war in your land against an adversary who oppresses you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets. I, Yahweh your God, will call you to mind and save you from your enemies. 10 Also, at the times of celebration, both your regular festivals and at the beginnings of the months, you must blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices for your fellowship offerings. These will act as a reminder of you to me, your God. I am Yahweh your God."
11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was lifted from the tabernacle of the covenant decrees. 12 The people of Israel then went on their journey from the wilderness of Sinai. The cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They made their first journey, following Yahweh's command given through Moses. 14 The camp under the banner of Judah's descendants went out first, moving out their individual armies. Nahshon son of Amminadab led Judah's army. 15 Nethanel son of Zuar led the army of the tribe of Issachar's descendants. 16 Eliab son of Helon led the army of the tribe of Zebulun's descendants. 17 The descendants of Gershon and of Merari, who cared for the tabernacle, took down the tabernacle and then set out on their journey. 18 Next, the armies under the banner of Reuben's camp set out on their journey. Elizur son of Shedeur led Reuben's army. 19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai led the army of the tribe of Simeon's descendants. 20 Eliasaph son of Deuel led the army of the tribe of Gad's descendants.
21 The Kohathites set out. They carried the sanctuary's holy equipment. Others would set up the tabernacle before the Kohathites arrived at the next camp. 22 The armies under the banner of Ephraim's descendants set out next. Elishama son of Ammihud led Ephraim's army. 23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur led the army of the tribe of Manasseh's descendants. 24 Abidan son of Gideoni led the army of the tribe of Benjamin's descendants.
25 The armies that camped under the banner of Dan's descendants set out last. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai led Dan's army. 26 Pagiel son of Okran led the army of the tribe of Asher's descendants. 27 Ahira son of Enan led the army of the tribe of Naphtali's descendants. 28 This is the way that the armies of the people of Israel set out on their journey.
29 Moses spoke to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite. Reuel was the father of Moses' wife. Moses spoke to Hobab and said, "We are traveling to a place that Yahweh described. Yahweh said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will do you good. Yahweh has promised to do good for Israel." 30 But Hobab said to Moses, "I will not go with you. I will go to my own land and my own relatives." 31 Then Moses replied, "Please do not leave us. You know how to camp in the wilderness. You must watch out for us. 32 If you go with us, we will do for you the same good that Yahweh does to us."
33 They journeyed from the mountain of Yahweh for three days. The ark of the covenant of Yahweh went before them for three days to find a place for them to rest. 34 Yahweh's cloud was over them in the daytime as they journeyed.
35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, "Rise up, Yahweh. Scatter your enemies. Make those who hate you run from you." 36 Whenever the ark stopped, Moses would say, "Return, Yahweh, to Israel's many tens of thousands."
1 Now the people complained about their troubles as Yahweh listened. Yahweh heard the people and became angry. Fire from Yahweh burned among them and consumed some of the camp on its edges. 2 Then people called out to Moses, so Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire stopped. 3 That place was named Taberah, because Yahweh's fire burned among them.
4 Some foreign people began to camp with Israel's descendants. They wanted better food to eat. Then the people of Israel began to weep and say, "Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish that we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 Now our appetite is gone, because all we can see is this manna." 7 Manna was like coriander seed. It looked like resin. 8 The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it in mills, beat it in mortars, boiled it in pots, and made it into cakes. It tasted like a delicacy baked with olive oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna also fell. 10 Moses heard the people weeping in their families, and every man was at the entrance to his tent. Yahweh was very angry, and in Moses' eyes their complaining was wrong. 11 Moses said to Yahweh, "Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why are you not pleased with me? You make me carry the load of all these people. 12 Did I conceive all these people? Have I given them birth so that you should say to me, 'Carry them closely to your chest as a father carries a baby?' Should I carry them to the land that you swore to their ancestors to give them? 13 Where can I find meat to give to all this people? They are weeping in front of me and are saying, 'Give us meat to eat.' 14 I cannot bear all these people alone. They are too much for me. 15 Since you are treating me this way, kill me now—if I find favor in your eyes—do not let me see my misery."
16 Yahweh said to Moses, "Bring to me seventy of Israel's elders. Be sure that they are elders and officers of the people. Bring them to the tent of meeting to stand there with you. 17 I will come down and talk with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will bear the burden of the people with you. You will not have to bear it alone. 18 Say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow you will indeed eat meat, for you have wept and Yahweh has heard. You said, "Who will give us meat to eat? It was good for us in Egypt." Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat meat for only one day, two days, five days, ten days, or twenty days, 20 but you will eat meat for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils. It will disgust you because you have rejected Yahweh, who is among you. You have wept before him. You said, "Why did we leave Egypt?"'" 21 Then Moses said, "The people I am with are 600,000 footmen, and you have said, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.' 22 Should we kill flocks and herds to satisfy them? Should we catch all the fish in the sea to satisfy them?" 23 Yahweh said to Moses, "Is my hand short? Now you will see whether or not my word is true."
24 Moses went out and told the people Yahweh's words. He gathered seventy of the people's elders and positioned them around the tent. 25 Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Yahweh took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but only on that occasion and not again.
26 Two men remained in the camp, named Eldad and Medad. The Spirit also rested on them. Their names were written on the list, but they had not gone out to the tent. Nevertheless, they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man in the camp ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." 28 Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his chosen men, said to Moses, "My master Moses, stop them." 29 Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all of Yahweh's people were prophets and that he would put his Spirit on them all!" 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel went back to the camp.
31 Then a wind came from Yahweh and brought quail from the sea. They fell near the camp, about a day's journey on one side and a day's journey on the other side. The quail surrounded the camp about two cubits above the ground. 32 The people were busy gathering quail all that day, all the night, and all the next day. No one gathered less than ten homers of quail. They shared the quail all through the camp. 33 While the meat was still between their teeth, while they were chewing it, the anger of Yahweh was kindled at them. He attacked the people with a very great disease. 34 That place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved meat. 35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed.
1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married. 2 They said, "Has Yahweh spoken only with Moses? Has he not spoken also with us?" Now Yahweh heard what they said. 3 Now the man Moses was very humble, humbler than anyone else on earth.
4 Right away Yahweh spoke to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: "Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting." So the three of them went out. 5 Then Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud. He stood at the entrance to the tent and called Aaron and Miriam. They both came forward. 6 Yahweh said, "Now listen to my words.
When a prophet of mine is with you,
I will reveal myself to him in visions
and speak to him in dreams.
7 My servant Moses is not like that.
He is faithful in all my house.
8 I speak to Moses directly, not with visions or riddles.
He sees my form.
So why are you unafraid
to speak against my servant, against Moses?"
9 Yahweh's anger burned against them, and then he left them. 10 The cloud rose from over the tent, and Miriam was suddenly leprous—she was as white as snow. When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she had leprosy.
11 Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my master, please do not hold this sin against us. We have spoken foolishly, and we have sinned. 12 Please do not let her be like a dead newborn whose flesh is half consumed when it emerges from its mother's womb." 13 So Moses called out to Yahweh. He said, "Please heal her, God, please." 14 Yahweh said to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, she would be disgraced for seven days. Shut her outside the camp for seven days. After that bring her in again." 15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp for seven days. The people did not journey until she had returned to the camp.
16 After that, the people journeyed from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Send some men to examine the land of Canaan, which I have given to the people of Israel. Send a man from every tribe of their ancestors. Each man must be a leader among them." 3 Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, so that they might obey Yahweh's command. All of them were leaders among the people of Israel. 4 These were 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 Joseph (that is to say, from the tribe Manasseh), 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 were the names of the men whom Moses sent to examine the land. Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name of Joshua.
17 Moses sent them to examine the land of Canaan. He said to them, "Approach from the Negev and go up into the hill country. 18 Examine the land to see what it is like. Observe the people who live there, whether they are strong or weak, and whether they are few or many. 19 See what the land is like where they live. Is it good or bad? What cities are there? Are they like camps, or are they fortified cities? 20 See what the land is like, whether it is good for growing crops or not, and whether there are trees there or not. Be brave and bring back samples of the land's produce." Now the time was the season for the first ripe grapes.
21 So the men went up and examined the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up from the Negev and arrived at Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut down a branch with a cluster of grapes. They carried it on a staff between two of their group. They also brought pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was named the Valley of Eshkol, because of the grape cluster that the people of Israel cut down there.
25 After forty days, they returned from examining the land. 26 They came back to Moses, Aaron, and all the community of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the community, and showed them the produce from the land. 27 They told Moses, "We reached the land to which you sent us. It certainly flows with milk and honey. Here is some produce from it. 28 However, the people who make their homes there are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. We also saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev. The Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites have their homes in the hill country. The Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan River."
30 Then Caleb silenced the people who were before Moses and said, "Let us go up and take possession of the land, for we are certainly able to conquer it." 31 But the other men who had gone with him said, "We are not able to attack the people because they are stronger than we are." 32 So they spread around a discouraging report to the people of Israel about the land that they had examined. They said, "The land that we looked at is a land that eats up its inhabitants. All the people whom we saw there are people of great height. 33 There we saw the Nephilim, descendants of Anak, people who came from giants. In our own sight we were like grasshoppers in comparison with them, and this is what we were in their sight, too."
1 That night all the community wept loudly. 2 All the people of Israel criticized Moses and Aaron. The whole community said to them, "We wish we had died in the land of Egypt, or here in this wilderness! 3 Why did Yahweh bring us to this land to die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become victims. Is it not better for us to return to Egypt?"
4 They said to one another, "Let us choose another leader, and let us return to Egypt." 5 Then Moses and Aaron lay facedown before all the assembly of the community of the people of Israel. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were some of those sent to examine the land, tore their clothes. 7 They spoke to all the community of the people of Israel. They said, "The land that we passed through and examined is a very good land. 8 If Yahweh is pleased with us, then he will take us into this land and give it to us. The land flows with milk and honey. 9 But do not rebel against Yahweh, and do not fear the people in the land, for they are bread to us. Their protection will be removed from them, because Yahweh is with us. Do not fear them." 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of Yahweh appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
11 Yahweh said to Moses, "How long must this people despise me? How long must they fail to trust me, despite all the signs of my power that I have done among them? 12 I will attack them with plague, disinherit them, and make from your own clan a nation that will be greater and mightier than they are."
13 Moses said to Yahweh, "If you do this, then the Egyptians will hear about it, because you rescued this people from them by your power. 14 They will tell it to this land's inhabitants. They have heard that you, Yahweh, are present with this people, because you are seen face to face. Your cloud stands over our people. You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations that have heard this report about you will say, 16 'Because Yahweh could not take this people into the land that he swore to give them, he has killed them in the wilderness.' 17 Now, I beg you, may the power of my Lord be great. For you have said, 18 'Yahweh is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He forgives iniquity and transgression. He will by no means clear the guilty when he brings the punishment of the ancestors' sin on their descendants, to the third and fourth generation.' 19 Pardon, I plead with you, this people's iniquity because of the greatness of your covenant faithfulness, just as you have always forgiven this people from the time they were in Egypt until now."
20 Yahweh said, "I have pardoned them in keeping with your request, 21 but truly, as I live, and as all the earth will be filled with my glory, 22 all those people who saw my glory and the signs of power that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness—they have still tested me these ten times and have not listened to my voice. 23 So I say that they will certainly not see the land about which I made an oath to their ancestors. Not one of them who despised me will see it, 24 except for my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly. I will bring him into the land where he had gone, and his descendants will take possession of it. 25 (Now the Amalekites and Canaanites lived in the valley.) Tomorrow turn and go to the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Reeds."
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron. He said, 27 "How long must I tolerate this evil community that criticizes me? I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel against me. 28 Say to them, 'As I live—this is Yahweh's declaration—as you have spoken in my hearing, I will do this to you: 29 Your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness, all you who complained against me, you who were counted in the census, the whole number of the people from twenty years old and upward. 30 You will certainly not go into the land that I promised to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 But your little ones who you said would be victims, I will take them into the land. They will experience the land that you have rejected! 32 As for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years. They must bear the punishment for your acts of rebellion until the end of your corpses in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days during which you examined the land, forty days, you will bear the punishment for your sins for forty years, one year for every day, and you will know my opposition. 35 I, Yahweh, have spoken. I will certainly do this to all this evil community that is gathered together against me. They will be completely cut off in this wilderness, and here they will die.'"
36 So the men Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made the entire community grumble against Moses by spreading a bad report about the land— 37 these men who had brought out a bad report about the land were struck down, and they died of a plague before Yahweh. 38 Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive.
39 When Moses reported these words to all the people of Israel, they mourned very deeply. 40 They rose up early in the morning and went to the top of the mountain and said, "Look, we are here, and we will go to the place that Yahweh has promised, for we have sinned." 41 But Moses said, "Why are you now violating Yahweh's command? You will not succeed. 42 Do not go, because Yahweh is not with you to prevent you from being defeated by your enemies. 43 The Amalekites and Canaanites are there, and you will die by the sword because you turned back from following Yahweh. So he will not be with you." 44 But they arrogantly went up into the hill country; however, neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of Yahweh left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites came down, and also the Canaanites who lived on those hills. They attacked the Israelites and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you go into the land where you will live, which Yahweh will give to you, 3 you are to prepare an offering by fire to Yahweh, either a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or a freewill offering, or an offering at your feasts, to produce a pleasing aroma for Yahweh from the herd or the flock. 4 You must offer to Yahweh a burnt offering as well as a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil. 5 You must also offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, one-fourth of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb. 6 If you are offering a ram, you must prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. 7 For the drink offering, you must offer a third of a hin of wine. It will produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. 8 When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a fellowship offering to Yahweh, 9 then you must offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil. 10 You must offer as the drink offering half a hin of wine, as an offering made by fire, to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh.
11 It must be done this way for each bull, for each ram, and for each of the male lambs or young goats. 12 Every sacrifice that you prepare and offer must be done as described here. 13 All who are native-born must do these things in this way, when anyone brings an offering made by fire, to produce an aroma that is pleasing to Yahweh. 14 If a sojourner is staying with you, or whoever may live among you throughout your people's generations, he must make an offering made by fire, to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. He must act as you act. 15 There must be the same law for the community and for the foreigner who stays with you, a permanent law throughout your people's generations. As you are, so also must be the sojourner staying with you. He must act as you act before Yahweh. 16 The same law and decree must apply to you and to the foreigner who is staying with you.'"
17 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 18 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you come into the land where I will take you, 19 when you eat the food produced in the land, you must lift up a contribution to Yahweh. 20 From the first of your dough you must offer a loaf to lift it up as a contribution, a contribution from the threshing floor. You must lift it up in this way. 21 You must give to me a lifted contribution throughout your people's generations from the first of your dough.
22 You will sometimes sin without intending to do so, when you do not obey all these commands that I have spoken to Moses— 23 everything that I have commanded you through Moses from the day that I began to give you commands and onward throughout your people's generations. 24 In the case of unintentional sin without the community's knowledge, then all the community must offer one young bull as a burnt offering to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. Along with this must be made a grain offering and drink offering, as commanded by the decree, and one male goat as a sin offering. 25 The priest must make atonement for all the community of the people of Israel. They will be forgiven because the sin was an error. They have brought their sacrifice, an offering made by fire to me. They have brought their sin offering before me for their error. 26 Then all the community of the people of Israel will be forgiven, and also the foreigners who are staying with them, because all the people committed the sin unintentionally.
27 If a person sins unintentionally, then he must offer a female goat a year old as a sin offering. 28 The priest must make atonement before Yahweh for the person who goes astray and sins unintentionally. That person will be forgiven when atonement has been made. 29 You must have the same law for the one who does anything unintentionally, the same law for the one who is native born among the people of Israel and for the foreigners who are staying among them. 30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native born or a foreigner, blasphemes me. That person must be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised my word and has broken my commandment, that person must be cut off completely. His iniquity will be on him.'"
32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him brought him to Moses, Aaron, and all the community. 34 They kept him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done with him. 35 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "The man must surely be put to death. All the community must stone him with stones outside the camp." 36 So all the community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
37 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 38 "Speak to the descendants of Israel and command them to make for themselves tassels to hang from the borders of their garments, to hang them from each border by a blue cord. They must do this throughout their people's generations. 39 It will be a special reminder to you, when you may look at it, of all my commandments, to carry them out so that you do not look to your own heart and your own eyes and prostitute yourselves to them. 40 Do this so that you may call to mind and obey all my commandments, and so that you may be holy, reserved for me, your God. 41 I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to become your God. I am Yahweh your God."
1 Now Korah son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, descendants of Reuben, gathered some men. 2 They rose up against Moses, along with other men from the people of Israel, 250 leaders of the community who were men of reputation in the community. 3 They assembled themselves together to confront Moses and Aaron. They said to them, "You have gone too far! All the community is set apart, every one of them, and Yahweh is among them. Why do you lift up yourselves above the rest of Yahweh's community?"
4 When Moses heard that, he lay facedown. 5 He spoke to Korah and all his companions, "In the morning Yahweh will make known who belongs to him and who is set apart to him. He will bring that person near to him. The one he chooses he will bring near to himself. 6 Do this, Korah and all your group. Take censers 7 tomorrow and put fire and incense in them before Yahweh. The one whom Yahweh chooses, that man will be set apart to Yahweh. You have gone too far, you descendants of Levi." 8 Again, Moses said to Korah, "Now listen, you descendants of Levi: 9 is it a small thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the community of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do work in Yahweh's tabernacle, and to stand before the community to serve them? 10 He has brought you near, and all your kinfolk, the descendants of Levi, with you, yet you are seeking the priesthood also! 11 Therefore you and all your company have gathered together against Yahweh. Who is Aaron that you grumble against him?"
12 Then Moses called for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness? Now you want to make yourself ruler over us! 14 In addition, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us the fields and vineyards as an inheritance. Now do you want to blind us with empty promises? We will not come to you."
15 Moses was very angry and said to Yahweh, "Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed any of them." 16 Then Moses said to Korah, "Tomorrow you and all your companions must go before Yahweh—you and they, and Aaron. 17 Each of you must take his censer and put incense in it. Then each man must bring before Yahweh his censer, 250 censers. You and Aaron, also, must each bring your censer." 18 So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense in it, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Korah assembled all the community against Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and Yahweh's glory appeared to all the community.
20 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron: 21 "Separate yourselves from among this community that I may consume them immediately." 22 Moses and Aaron lay facedown and said, "God, the God of the spirits of all humanity, if one man sins, must you be angry with all the community?" 23 Yahweh replied to Moses. He said, 24 "Speak to the community. Say, 'Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.'"
25 Then Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; the elders of Israel followed him. 26 He spoke to the community and said, "Now leave the tents of these wicked men and touch nothing of theirs, or you will be consumed by all their sins." 27 So the community on every side of the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram left them. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrance to their tents, with their wives, sons, and their little ones. 28 Then Moses said, "By this you will know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own accord. 29 If these men die a natural death such as normally happens, then Yahweh has not sent me. 30 But if Yahweh creates something new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that they possess, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you must understand that these men have despised Yahweh."
31 As soon as Moses finished speaking all these words, the ground opened under those men. 32 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their families, and all the people who belonged to Korah, as well as all their possessions. 33 So they and all that they possessed went down alive into Sheol. The earth closed over them, and they perished from among the community. 34 All Israel around them fled from their cries. They exclaimed, "The earth may swallow us up also!" 35 Then fire flashed out from Yahweh and devoured the 250 men who had offered incense.
36 Again Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 37 "Speak to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest and let him take up the censers out of the flames, for the censers are set apart to me. Then let him scatter the burning coals at a distance. 38 Take the censers of those who lost their lives because of their sin. Let them be made into hammered plates as a covering over the altar. Those men did offer them before me, so they are set apart to me. They will be a sign of my presence to the people of Israel."
39 Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been used by the men who were burned up, and they were hammered out into a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider who was not descended from Aaron should come up to burn incense before Yahweh, so they might not become like Korah and his group—just as Yahweh had commanded through Moses.
41 But the next morning all the community of the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, "You have killed Yahweh's people." 42 Then it happened, when the community had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting and, behold, the cloud was covering it. Yahweh's glory appeared, 43 and Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting. 44 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 45 "Go away from in front of this community so that I may consume them immediately." Then Moses and Aaron lay down with their faces to the ground. 46 Moses said to Aaron, "Take the censer, put fire in it from off the altar, put incense in it, carry it quickly to the community, and make atonement for them, because anger is coming from Yahweh. The plague has begun." 47 So Aaron did as Moses directed. He ran into the middle of the community. The plague had quickly started to spread among the people, so he put in the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 Aaron stood between the dead and the living; in this way the plague was stopped. 49 Those who died by the plague were 14,700 in number, besides those who had died in the matter of Korah. 50 Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and the plague ended.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and get staffs from them, one for each ancestral tribe, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff. 3 You must write Aaron's name on Levi's staff. There must be one staff for each leader from his ancestors' tribe. 4 You must place the staffs in the tent of meeting in front of the covenant decrees, where I meet with you. 5 It will happen that the staff of the man whom I choose will bud. I will cause the complaints from the people of Israel to stop, which they are speaking against you." 6 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. All the tribal leaders gave him staffs, one staff from each leader, selected from each of the ancestral tribes, twelve staffs in all. Aaron's staff was among them. 7 Then Moses deposited the staffs before Yahweh in the tent of the covenant decrees.
8 The next day Moses went into the tent of the covenant decrees and, behold, Aaron's staff for the tribe of Levi had budded. It grew buds and produced blossoms and ripe almonds! 9 Moses brought out all the staffs from before Yahweh to all the people of Israel, and each man took his staff. 10 Yahweh said to Moses, "Put Aaron's staff in front of the covenant decrees. Keep it as a sign of guilt against the people who rebelled so that you may end complaints against me, or they will die." 11 Moses did just as Yahweh had commanded him.
12 The people of Israel spoke to Moses and said, "We will die here. We will all perish! 13 Everyone who comes up, who approaches Yahweh's tabernacle, will die. Must we all perish?"
1 Yahweh said to Aaron, "You, your sons, and your ancestor's clan will be responsible for all sins committed against the sanctuary. But only you and your sons with you will be responsible for all sins committed by anyone in the priesthood. 2 As for your fellow members of the tribe of Levi, your ancestors' tribe, you must bring them with you so they may join you and help you when you and your sons serve in front of the tent of the covenant decrees. 3 They must perform your duties and the duties of the whole tent. However, they must not come near to anything in the holy place or connected with the altar, or they and also you will die. 4 They must join you and perform the duties connected with the tent of meeting, for all the work connected with the tent. A foreigner must not come near you. 5 You must perform the duties for the holy place and for the altar so that my anger does not come on the people of Israel again. 6 Look, I myself have chosen your fellow members of the Levites from among the descendants of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to me to do the work connected to the tent of meeting. 7 But only you and your sons may exercise the priesthood regarding everything connected with the altar and everything inside the curtain. You yourselves must fulfill those responsibilities. I am giving you the priesthood as a gift. Any foreigner who approaches must be put to death."
8 Then Yahweh said to Aaron, "Look, I have given you the duty of handling the contributions lifted up to me, and all the holy offerings that the people of Israel give to me. I have given these offerings to you as a consecrated portion and to your sons as your assigned portion for all time. 9 This will belong to you from the most holy things that are kept from the fire. From every offering of theirs—every grain offering, every sin offering, and every guilt offering—they are set apart to you and to your sons. 10 These offerings are very holy; every male must eat it, for they are holy to you. 11 These are the contributions that will belong to you, set apart out of all their gifts of the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you, your sons, and your daughters, as your portion forever. Everyone who is ceremonially clean in your family may eat any of these offerings. 12 All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and grain, the firstfruits that the people give to me—all these things I have given to you. 13 The first ripe produce of all that is in their land, which they bring to me, will be yours. Everyone who is clean in your family may eat these things. 14 Every devoted thing in Israel will be yours. 15 Every first issue of the womb, all the firstborn that the people offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal, will be yours. Nevertheless, the people must certainly redeem every firstborn son, and they must redeem the firstborn male of unclean animals. 16 Those that are to be redeemed by the people must be redeemed after becoming one month old. Then the people may redeem them for the price of five shekels of silver, by the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs. 17 But the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat—you must not redeem these animals; they are set apart to me. You must sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to Yahweh. 18 Their meat will be yours. Like the breast and the right thigh that are lifted as an offering, their meat will be yours. 19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to Yahweh, I have given to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as a continual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt, a binding covenant forever, before Yahweh for both you and your descendants with you." 20 Yahweh said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in the people's land, nor will you have any share of property among the people. I am your share and inheritance among the people of Israel.
21 To the descendants of Levi, look, I have given all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the service that they provide in working at the tent of meeting. 22 From now on the people of Israel must not come near the tent of meeting, or they will be responsible for this sin and die. 23 The Levites must do the work connected to the tent of meeting. They will be responsible for any iniquity regarding it. This will be a permanent law throughout your people's generations. Among the people of Israel they must have no inheritance. 24 For the tithes of the people of Israel, which they offer as a contribution to Yahweh—it is these that I have given to the Levites as their inheritance. That is why I said to them, 'They must have no inheritance among the people of Israel.'"
25 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 26 "You must speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you receive from the people of Israel the tenth that I have given to you from them for your inheritance, you will present a contribution from it to Yahweh, a tenth of the tithe. 27 Your contribution must be considered by you as if it were a tenth of the grain from the threshing floor or of the production from the winepress. 28 So you also must make a contribution to Yahweh from all the tithes that you receive from the people of Israel. From them you must give his contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all the gifts you receive, you must make every contribution to Yahweh. You must do this from all the best and the holiest things that have been given to you.' 30 Therefore you must say to them, 'When you present the best of it, then it must be credited to the Levites as the product from the threshing floor and the winepress. 31 You may eat the rest of your gifts in any place, you and your families, because it is your pay in return for your work in the tent of meeting. 32 You will not bear any sin by eating and drinking it, if you have presented to Yahweh the best of what you have received. But you must not profane the holy offerings of the people of Israel, or you will die.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, 2 "This is a statute, a law which Yahweh is commanding you: Say to the people of Israel that they must bring to you a red heifer without flaw or blemish, and which has never carried a yoke. 3 Give the heifer to Eleazar the priest. He must bring it outside the camp, and someone must kill it in front of him. 4 Eleazar the priest must take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 The heifer must be burned in his sight—its hide, its flesh, and its blood with its dung, must be burned. 6 The priest must take cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet wool, and throw it all into the middle of the burning heifer. 7 Then he must wash his clothes and bathe in water. Then he may come into the camp, where he will remain unclean until the evening. 8 The one who has burned the heifer must wash his clothes in water and bathe in water. He will remain unclean until the evening. 9 A man who is clean must gather up the heifer's ashes and put them outside the camp in a clean place. These ashes must be kept for the community of the people of Israel. They will mix the ashes with water for purification from sin, since the ashes were from a sin offering. 10 The one who gathered the heifer's ashes must wash his clothes. He will remain unclean until the evening. This will be a permanent law for the people of Israel and the foreigners who stay with them.
11 Whoever touches the dead body of any man will be unclean for seven days. 12 Such a person must purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day. Then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself the third day, then he will not be clean on the seventh day. 13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of a man who has died, and does not purify himself—this person defiles Yahweh's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel because the water for impurity was not sprinkled on him. He will remain unclean; his uncleanness will remain on him.
14 This is the law for when someone dies in a tent. Everyone who goes into the tent and everyone who is already in the tent will be unclean for seven days. 15 Every open container with no cover becomes unclean. 16 In the same way, anyone outside a tent who touches someone who has been killed with a sword, any other dead body, a human bone, or a grave—that person will be unclean for seven days. 17 Do this for the unclean person: Take some ashes from the burnt sin offering and mix them in a jar with fresh water. 18 Someone who is clean must then take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the containers inside the tent, on the persons who were there, and on anyone who touched the bone, the one who was killed, the one who died, or the grave. 19 On the third day and on the seventh day, the clean person must sprinkle the unclean person. On the seventh day the unclean person must purify himself. He must wash his clothes and bathe in water. At evening he will become clean.
20 But anyone who remains unclean, who refuses to purify himself—that person will be cut off from the community, because he has defiled Yahweh's sanctuary. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him; he remains unclean. 21 This will be an ongoing law concerning these situations. The one who sprinkles the water for impurity must wash his clothes. The one who touches the water for impurity will become unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches will become unclean. The person who touches it will become unclean until evening."
1 So the people of Israel, the whole community, went into the wilderness of Zin in the first month; they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2 There was no water for the community, so they assembled together against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people complained against Moses. They said, "It would have been better if we had died when our fellow Israelites died in front of Yahweh! 4 Why have you brought Yahweh's community into this wilderness to die here, we and our animals? 5 Why did you make us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this horrible place? There is no place for seed, figs, vines, or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink." 6 So Moses and Aaron went away from in front of the assembly. They went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and lay facedown. There Yahweh's brilliant glory appeared to them. 7 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 8 "Take the staff and assemble the community, you, and Aaron your brother. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and command it to flow with water. You will produce water for them out of that rock, and you must give it to the community and their livestock to drink." 9 Moses took the staff from before Yahweh, as Yahweh had commanded him to do.
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock. Moses said to them, "Listen now, you rebels. Must we bring water out of this rock for you?" 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, and much water came out. The community drank, and their livestock drank. 12 Then Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust me or honor me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them." 13 This place was called the waters of Meribah because the people of Israel had quarreled with Yahweh there, and he showed himself to them as holy.
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: Your brother Israel says this: "You know all the hardship that has found us. 15 You know that our ancestors went down to Egypt and lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians treated us harshly and also our ancestors. 16 When we called out to Yahweh, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the border of your land. 17 I am asking you to let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, nor will we drink the water in your wells. We will go along the king's highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed your border."
18 But the king of Edom replied to him, "You may not pass through here. If you do, I will come with the sword to attack you."
19 Then the people of Israel said to him, "We will go along the highway. If we or our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us walk through on foot, without doing anything else."
20 But the king of Edom replied, "You may not pass through." So the king of Edom came against Israel with a strong hand with many soldiers. 21 The king of Edom refused to allow Israel to cross over their border. Because of this, Israel turned away from the land of Edom.
22 So the people journeyed from Kadesh. The people of Israel, the whole community, came to Mount Hor. 23 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on Edom's border. He said, 24 "Aaron must be gathered to his people, for he will not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel. This is because you both rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 Take Aaron's priestly garments off him and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron must die and be gathered to his people there." 27 Moses did as Yahweh commanded. They went up Mount Hor in the sight of all the community. 28 Moses took Aaron's priestly garments off him and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down. 29 When all the community saw that Aaron was dead, the entire house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days.
1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was traveling by the road to Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 Israel vowed to Yahweh and said, "If you give us victory over these people, then we will completely destroy their cities." 3 Yahweh listened to Israel's voice and he gave them victory over the Canaanites. They completely destroyed them and their cities. That place was named Hormah.
4 They traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Reeds to go around the land of Edom. The people became very discouraged on the way. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, no water, and we hate this miserable food." 6 Then Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among the people. The snakes bit the people; many people of Israel died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and you. Pray to Yahweh for him to take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Yahweh said to Moses, "Make a snake and attach it to a pole. It will happen that everyone who is bitten will survive, if he looks at it." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and attached it to a pole. When a snake bit any person, if he looked at the bronze snake, he survived.
10 Then the people of Israel traveled on and camped at Oboth. 11 They traveled from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the east. 12 From there they traveled on and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they traveled on and camped on the other side of the Arnon River, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites. The Arnon River forms the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 That is why it says in the scroll of the Wars of Yahweh,
"... Zahab [1] in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
15 the slope of the valleys that lead toward the town of Ar
and lie along the border of Moab."
16 From there they traveled to Beer, the well where Yahweh said to Moses, "Gather the people together for me to give them water."
17 Then Israel sang this song:
"Spring up, well!
Sing about it,
18 about the well that our leaders dug,
the well the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter and their staffs."
Then from the wilderness they traveled to Mattanah. 19 From Mattanah they traveled to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to a valley in the land of Moab. That is where the top of Mount Pisgah looks down on the wilderness.
21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites saying, 22 "Let us pass through your land. We will not turn into any field or vineyard. We will not drink the water from your wells. We will travel by the king's highway until we have crossed your border."
23 But King Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border. Instead, Sihon gathered all his army together and went out into the wilderness against Israel. He came to Jahaz, where he fought against Israel. 24 Israel attacked the army of Sihon with the edge of the sword and took their land from the Arnon to the Jabbok river, as far as the land of the people of Ammon. Now the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. 25 Israel took all the Amorite cities and lived in all of them, including Heshbon and all of its villages. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab. Sihon had taken all his land from his territory to the Arnon River. 27 That is why those who speak in proverbs say,
"Come to Heshbon.
Let the city of Sihon be rebuilt and established again.
28 A fire blazed from Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon
that devoured Ar of Moab,
and the owners of the high places of Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab!
You have perished, people of Chemosh.
He has made his sons to be fugitives
and his daughters to be prisoners
of Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 But we have conquered Sihon.
Heshbon is devastated all the way to Dibon.
We have defeated them all the way to Nophah,
which reaches to Medeba."
31 So Israel began to live in the Amorites' land. 32 Then Moses sent men to look at Jazer. They took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
33 Then they turned and went up by the road of Bashan. Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his army, to fight them at Edrei. 34 Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Do not fear him, because I have given you victory over him, all his army, and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon." 35 So they killed him, his sons, and all his army, until none of his people were left alive. Then they took over his land.
2 Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 Moab was very afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was in terror of the people of Israel. 4 The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This multitude will eat up all that is around us as an ox eats up the grass in a field." Now Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5 He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor, at Pethor which is by the Euphrates River, in the land of his nation and his people. He called him and said, "Look, a nation has come here from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and they are right now next to me. 6 Please come now and curse this nation for me, because they are too strong for me. Perhaps then I can manage to attack them and drive them out of the land. I know that those you bless will be blessed, and that those you curse will be cursed."
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left, taking payment for divination. They came to Balaam and spoke to him Balak's words. 8 Balaam said to them, "Stay here tonight. I will bring you what Yahweh says to me." So the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam that night. 9 God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men who came to you?" 10 Balaam answered God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me. He said, 11 'Look, the people who have come from Egypt cover the surface of my land. Now come and curse them for me. Perhaps I will manage to fight them and drive them out.'" 12 God replied to Balaam, "You must not go with those men. You must not curse the people of Israel because they have been blessed." 13 Balaam rose up in the morning and said to Balak's leaders, "Go back to your land because Yahweh refuses to allow me to go with you." 14 So the leaders of Moab left and went back to Balak. They said, "Balaam refused to come with us."
15 Balak sent again more leaders who were even more honored than the first group. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, "Balak son of Zippor says this, 'Please let nothing stop you from coming to me, 17 because I will pay you extremely well and give you great honor, and I will do whatever you tell me to do. So please come and curse this people for me.'"
18 Balaam answered and said to Balak's servants, "Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Yahweh, my God, and do less or more than what he tells me. 19 Now then, please wait here tonight too, so that I may learn anything further that Yahweh says to me." 20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them. But only do what I tell you to do."
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab. 22 But because he went, God's anger was kindled. The angel of Yahweh placed himself in the road as someone hostile to Balaam, who was riding on his donkey. Balaam's two servants were also with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with his drawn sword in his hand. The donkey turned off the road and went into a field. Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back to the road. 24 Then the angel of Yahweh stood in a narrow part of the road between some vineyards, with a wall on his right side and another wall on his left side. 25 The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh again. She went against the wall and pinned Balaam's foot against it. Balaam struck her again. 26 The angel of Yahweh went further and stood in another narrow place where there was no way to turn to either side. 27 The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and she lay down under Balaam. Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then Yahweh opened the donkey's mouth so she could talk. She said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that induced you to strike me these three times?" 29 Balaam replied to the donkey, "It was because you acted so stupidly with me. I wish there were a sword in my hand. If there were, by now I would have killed you." 30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life long to this present day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such things to you before?" Balaam said, "No."
31 Then Yahweh opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with his drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed down and lay facedown. 32 The angel of Yahweh said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Look, I have come as someone hostile to you because your actions before me have been wicked. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would certainly have killed you and spared her life." 34 Balaam said to the angel of Yahweh, "I have sinned. I did not know that you stood against me in the road. So now, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back." 35 But the angel of Yahweh said to Balaam, "Go on ahead with the men. But you must only speak the words that I tell you." So Balaam went with the leaders of Balak.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at a city in Moab at the Arnon, which is on the border. 37 Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send men to you to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?" 38 Then Balaam replied to Balak, "See, I have come to you. Do I now have any power to say anything? I can only say the words that God puts into my mouth." 39 Balaam went with Balak, and they arrived at Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep and gave some meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.
41 In the morning, Balak took Balaam up to the high place of Baal. From there Balaam could see only a part of the Israelites in their camp.
1 Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars here for me and prepare seven bulls and seven rams." 2 So Balak did as Balaam requested. Then Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on every altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand at your burnt offering and I will go. Perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you." So he went away to a hilltop with no trees. 4 Then God met Balaam, and Balaam said to him, "I have built seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each one." 5 Yahweh put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak and speak to him." 6 So Balaam returned to Balak, who was standing by his burnt offering, and all the leaders of Moab were with him. 7 Then Balaam began to speak his proverb and said,
"Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
'Come, curse Jacob for me,' he said.
'Come, denounce Israel.'
8 How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom Yahweh does not denounce?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him;
from the hills I look at him.
See, there is a people who live alone
and do not consider themselves as just an ordinary nation.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number even only one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of a righteous person,
and let my life's end be like his!"
11 Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have blessed them." 12 Balaam answered and said, "Should I not be careful to say only what Yahweh puts in my mouth?"
13 So Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the nearest of them, not all of them. There you will curse them for me." 14 So he took Balaam into the field of Zophim, to the top of Mount Pisgah, and built seven more altars. He offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet with Yahweh over there." 16 So Yahweh met Balaam and put a message in his mouth. He said, "Return to Balak and give him my message." 17 Balaam returned to him, and look, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab were with him. Then Balak said to him, "What has Yahweh said?"
18 Balaam began his prophecy. He said,
"Rise up, Balak, and hear.
Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
or a human being, that he should change his mind.
Has he promised anything without doing it?
Has he said he would do something without carrying it out?
20 Look, I have been commanded to bless.
God has given a blessing, and I cannot reverse it.
21 He has not looked upon disaster in Jacob,
and he has not seen trouble in Israel.
Yahweh their God is with them,
and the shout of the king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt
with strength like that of a wild ox.
23 There is no sorcery that works against Jacob,
and no divination harms Israel.
Now it must be said about Jacob and Israel,
'Look what God has done!'
24 Look, the people rise like a lioness,
as a lion emerges and attacks.
He does not lie down until he eats his victim
and drinks the blood of what he has killed."
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them or bless them at all." 26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, "Did I not tell you that I must say all that Yahweh tells me to say?" 27 So Balak replied to Balaam, "Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God for you to curse them there for me." 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which looks down on the wilderness. 29 Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams." 30 So Balak did as Balaam had said; he offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
1 When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he did not go, as at the other times, to use sorcery. Instead, he looked toward the wilderness. 2 Balaam raised his eyes and saw that Israel was camped, each in their own tribe, and the Spirit of God came on him. 3 He received this prophecy and said,
"This is the declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eyes are wide open,
4 the declaration of the one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who bows down with his eyes open.
5 How delightful are your tents, Jacob,
the place where you live, Israel!
6 Like valleys they spread out,
like gardens by the riverside,
like aloes planted by Yahweh,
like cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from their buckets,
and their seed will have abundant water.
Their king will be greater than Agag,
and their kingdom will be honored.
8 God will bring him out of Egypt.
He will have strength like a wild ox.
He will eat up the nations who fight against him.
He will break their bones to pieces.
He will shoot them with his arrows.
9 He crouches down like a lion,
like a lioness. Who dares disturb him?
May everyone who blesses him be blessed;
may everyone who curses him be cursed."
10 Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam and he struck his hands together in anger. Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but look, you have blessed them three times. 11 So flee home now. I said I would greatly reward you, but Yahweh has kept you from getting any reward."
12 Then Balaam replied to Balak, "I said to the messengers that you sent to me, 13 'Even if Balak gave me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond Yahweh's word and anything bad or good, or anything at all that I might want to do. I can say only what Yahweh tells me to say.' Did I not say this to them? 14 So now, look, I will go back to my people. But first let me advise you about what this people will do to your people in the days ahead."
15 Balaam began this prophecy. He said,
"This is the declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eyes are wide open.
16 This is the declaration of someone who hears words from God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees visions from the Almighty,
who bows down with open eyes.
17 I see him, but he is not here now.
I look at him, but he is not near.
A star will come out of Jacob,
and a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will shatter Moab's leaders
and destroy all the descendants of Seth.
18 Then Edom will become a possession of Israel,
and Seir will also become their possession,
enemies of Israel,
whom Israel will conquer with force.
19 Out of Jacob a king will come who will have dominion,
and he will destroy the survivors of their city."
20 Then Balaam looked at Amalek and began his prophecy. He said,
"Amalek was once the greatest of nations,
but his end will be eternal destruction."
21 Then Balaam looked toward the Kenites and began his prophecy. He said,
"The place where you live is strong,
and your nest is in the rocks.
22 Nevertheless you Kenites will be consumed by fire
when Assyria carries you away captive."
23 Then Balaam began his final prophecy. He said,
"Woe! Who will survive when God does this?
24 Ships will come from the coast of Cyprus [1] ;
they will attack Assyria and will conquer Eber,
but they, too, will end in destruction."
25 Then Balaam got up and left. He returned to his home, and Balak also went away.
1 Israel stayed in Shittim, and the men began to prostitute themselves with women of Moab, 2 for the Moabites had invited the people to the sacrifices to their gods. So the people ate and bowed down to Moabite gods. 3 The men of Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and Yahweh's anger was kindled against Israel. 4 Yahweh said to Moses, "Kill all the leaders of the people and hang them up before me to expose them in the daylight, so that my fierce anger may turn away from Israel." 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you must kill his people who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor."
6 Then one of the men of the sons of Israel came and brought among his family members a Midianite woman. This happened in the sight of Moses and all the community of the people of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saw that, he rose up from among the community and took a spear in his hand. 8 He followed the man of Israel into the tent and thrust the spear through both of their bodies, both the man of Israel and the woman. So a plague that God had sent on the people of Israel stopped. 9 Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.
10 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 11 "Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned my rage away from the people of Israel because he was passionate with my zeal among them. So I have not consumed the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, 'Yahweh says, "Look, I am giving to Phinehas my covenant of peace. 13 For him and his descendants after him, it will be a covenant of an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for me, his God. He has atoned for the people of Israel."'"
14 Now the name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, a leader of an ancestor's family among the Simeonites. 15 The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Kozbi daughter of Zur, who was head of a tribe and ancestral household in Midian.
16 So Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 17 "Treat the Midianites as enemies and attack them, 18 for they treated you like enemies with their deceitfulness. They led you into evil in the case of Peor and in the case of their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a leader in Midian, who was killed on the day of the plague in the matter of Peor."
1 It came about after the plague that Yahweh spoke to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest. He said, 2 "Count all the community of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and up, by their ancestor's families, all who are able to go to war for Israel." 3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said, 4 "Count the people, from twenty years old and up, as Yahweh commanded Moses and the people of Israel, who came out of the land of Egypt."
5 Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. From his son Hanok came the clan of the Hanokites. From Pallu came the clan of the Palluites.
6 From Hezron came the clan of the Hezronites. From Karmi came the clan of the Karmites.
7 These were the clans of Reuben, who numbered 43,730 men. 8 Eliab was a son of Pallu. 9 Eliab's sons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These were the same Dathan and Abiram who were in the company of Korah when they rebelled against Moses and Aaron and rebelled against Yahweh. 10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah when all his company died. At that time, fire devoured 250 men, who became a warning sign. 11 But Korah's line did not die out.
12 The clans of Simeon's descendants were these:
Through Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites,
through Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites,
through Jakin, the clan of the Jakinites,
13 through Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites,
through Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites.
14 These were the clans of Simeon's descendants, who numbered 22,200 men.
15 The clans of Gad's descendants were these:
Through Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites,
through Haggi, the clan of the Haggites,
through Shuni, the clan of the Shunites,
16 through Ozni, the clan of the Oznites,
through Eri, the clan of the Erites,
17 through Arod, the clan of the Arodites,
through Areli, the clan of the Arelites.
18 These were the clans of Gad's descendants, who numbered 40,500 men.
19 Judah's sons were Er and Onan, but these men died in the land of Canaan.
20 The clans of Judah's other descendants were these:
through Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites,
through Perez, the clan of the Perezites, and
through Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites.
21 The descendants of Perez were these:
Through Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites,
through Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites.
22 These were the clans of Judah's descendants, who numbered 76,500 men.
23 The clans of Issachar's descendants were these:
Through Tola, the clan of the Tolaites,
through Puah, the clan of the Puites,
24 through Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites,
through Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites.
25 These were the clans of Issachar, who numbered 64,300 men.
26 The clans of Zebulun's descendants were these:
Through Sered, the clan of the Seredites,
through Elon, the clan of the Elonites,
through Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites.
27 These were the clans of the Zebulunites, who numbered 60,500 men.
28 The clans of Joseph's descendants were Manasseh and Ephraim. 29 The descendants of Manasseh were these:
through Makir, the clan of the Makirites (Makir was Gilead's father),
through Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites.
30 Gilead's descendants were these:
Through Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites,
through Helek, the clan of the Helekites,
31 through Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites,
through Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites,
32 through Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites,
through Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites.
33 Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters.
The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah.
34 These were the clans of Manasseh, who numbered 52,700 men.
35 The clans of Ephraim's descendants were these:
Through Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites,
through Beker, the clan of the Bekerites,
through Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites.
36 The descendants of Shuthelah were, by Eran, the clan of the Eranites.
37 These were the clans of Ephraim's descendants, who numbered 32,500 men. These were Joseph's descendants, counted in each of their clans.
38 The clans of Benjamin's descendants were these:
Through Bela, the clan of the Belaites,
through Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites,
through Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites,
39 through Shephupham, the clan of the Shuphamites,
through Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites.
40 The descendants of Bela were Ard and Naaman. From Ard came the clan of the Ardites, and from Naaman came the clan of the Naamites.
41 These were the clans of Benjamin's descendants. They numbered 45,600 men.
42 The clans of Dan's descendants were, by Shuham, the clans of the Shuhamites. These were the clans of Dan's descendants. 43 All the clans of the Shuhamites numbered 64,400 men.
44 The clans of Asher's descendants were these:
Through Imnah, the clan of the Imnites,
through Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites,
through Beriah, the clan of the Beriites.
45 The descendants of Beriah were these:
Through Heber, the clan of the Heberites,
through Malkiel, the clan of the Malkielites.
46 The name of Asher's daughter was Serah.
47 These were the clans of Asher's descendants, who numbered 53,400 men.
48 The clans of Naphtali's descendants were these:
Through Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites,
through Guni, the clan of the Gunites,
49 through Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites,
through Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites.
50 These were the clans of Naphtali's descendants, who numbered 45,400 men.
51 This was the complete count of men of Israel: 601,730.
52 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 53 "The land must be divided among these men as an inheritance according to the number of their names. 54 To the larger clans you must give more inheritance, and to the smaller clans you must give less inheritance. To every family you must give an inheritance according to the number of men who were counted. 55 However, the land must be divided by random lots. They must inherit the land according to the names of their ancestors' tribes. 56 Their inheritance must be divided among the larger and the smaller clans, distributed to them by random lot."
57 The Levite clans, counted clan by clan, were these:
Through Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites,
through Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites,
through Merari, the clan of the Merarites.
58 The clans of Levi were these:
the clan of the Libnites,
the clan of the Hebronites,
the clan of the Mahlites,
the clan of the Mushites,
and the clan of the Korahites.
Kohath was Amram's ancestor. 59 The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to Levites in Egypt. She bore to Amram their children, who were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 Nadab and Abihu died when they offered before Yahweh unacceptable fire.
62 The males who were counted among them numbered twenty-three thousand, all males one month old and up. But they were not counted among Israel's descendants because no inheritance was given to them among the people of Israel.
63 These are the ones who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest. They counted the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was no man who had been counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when the descendants of Israel were counted in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For Yahweh had said that all of those people would certainly die in the wilderness. There was not a man left among them, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
1 Then to Moses came the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Makir son of Manasseh, of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and before all the community at the entrance to the tent of meeting. They said, 3 "Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company that gathered themselves together to oppose Yahweh, in the company of Korah. He died for his own sin, and he had no sons. 4 Why should our father's name be taken away from among his clan members because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's relatives." 5 So Moses brought their case before Yahweh.
6 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 7 "Zelophehad's daughters are speaking correctly. You must certainly give them a possession as an inheritance among their father's relatives, and you must ensure that their father's inheritance passes on to them. 8 You must speak to the people of Israel and say, 'If a man dies and has no son, then you must cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you must give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you must give his inheritance to his father's brothers. 11 If his father has no brothers, then you must give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his clan, and he must take it for his own. This will be a law established by decree for the people of Israel, as Yahweh has commanded me.'"
12 Yahweh said to Moses, "Go up this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you, too, must be gathered to your people, like Aaron your brother. 14 This will happen because you two rebelled against my command in the wilderness of Zin during the strife of the congregation. There, when the water flowed from the rock, in your anger you failed to honor me as holy before the eyes of the whole community." These are the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
15 Then Moses spoke to Yahweh and said, 16 "May you, Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all humanity, appoint a man over the community, 17 a man who may go out and come in before them and lead them out and bring them in, so that your community is not like sheep that have no shepherd." 18 Yahweh said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom my Spirit lives, and lay your hand on him. 19 Place him before Eleazar the priest and before all the community, and command him before their eyes to lead them. 20 You must put some of your authority on him, so that all the community of the people of Israel may obey him. 21 He will go before Eleazar the priest to seek my will for him by the decisions of the Urim. It will be at his command that the people will go out and come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole community." 22 So Moses did as Yahweh had commanded him. He took Joshua and placed him before Eleazar the priest and all the community. 23 Moses laid his hands on him and commanded him to lead, as Yahweh had commanded him to do.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 2 "Command the people of Israel and say to them, 'You must offer sacrifices to me at the appointed times, the food of my offerings made by fire to produce a sweet aroma for me.' 3 You must also say to them, 'This is the offering made by fire that you must offer to Yahweh—male lambs a year old without blemish, two each day, as a regular burnt offering. 4 One lamb you must offer in the morning, and the other lamb you must offer in the evening. 5 You must offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil. 6 This is the regular burnt offering that was commanded at Mount Sinai to produce a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 7 The drink offering with it must be one-fourth of a hin for one of the lambs. You must pour out in the holy place a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh. 8 The other lamb you must offer in the evening along with another grain offering like the one offered in the morning. You must also offer another drink offering with it, an offering made by fire, to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh.
9 On the Sabbath day you must offer two male lambs, each a year old without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, and the drink offering with it. 10 This is to be the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and the drink offering with it.
11 At the beginning of each month, you must offer a burnt offering to Yahweh. You must offer two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old without blemish. 12 You must also offer three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with oil for each bull, and two-tenths of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with oil for the one ram. 13 You must also offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb. This is to be the burnt offering, to produce a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 14 The people's drink offerings must be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb. This is to be the burnt offering for every month throughout the months of the year. 15 One male goat as a sin offering to Yahweh must be offered. This will be in addition to the regular burnt offering and the drink offering with it.
16 During the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, comes Yahweh's Passover. 17 On the fifteenth day of this month a feast is to be held. For seven days, bread without yeast must be eaten. 18 On the first day, there must be a holy assembly to honor Yahweh. You must not do regular work on that day. 19 However, you must offer a sacrifice made by fire, a burnt offering to Yahweh. You must offer two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, without blemish. 20 Along with the bull, you must offer a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and along with the ram, two-tenths. 21 With each of the seven lambs, you must offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, 22 and one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves. 23 You must offer these in addition to the regular burnt offering required each morning. 24 As described here, you must offer these sacrifices daily, for the seven days of the Passover, the food of the offering made by fire, a sweet aroma for Yahweh. It must be offered in addition to the regular burnt offering and the drink offering with it. 25 On the seventh day you must have a holy assembly to honor Yahweh, and you must not do regular work on that day.
26 Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you offer a new grain offering to Yahweh in your Festival of Weeks, you must have a holy assembly to honor Yahweh, and you must not do regular work on that day. 27 You must offer a burnt offering to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. You must offer two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. 28 Offer also grain offering to go with them: Fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull and two-tenths for the one ram. 29 Offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for each of the seven lambs, 30 and one male goat to make atonement for yourselves. 31 When you offer those animals without blemish, along with their drink offerings, this must be in addition to the regular burnt offering and the grain offering with it.
1 In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a holy assembly to honor Yahweh. You must not do regular work on that day. It will be a day when you blow trumpets. 2 You must offer a burnt offering to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. You must offer one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 3 You must offer with them their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each lamb of the seven lambs. 5 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for yourselves. 6 Make these offerings in the seventh month in addition to all of the offerings you will make on the first of each month: the special burnt offering and the grain offering to go with it. These must be in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings. As you make these offerings, you will obey what has been decreed to produce a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
7 On the tenth day of the seventh month you must have a holy assembly to honor Yahweh. You must humble yourselves and do no work. 8 You must offer a burnt offering to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. You must offer one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. They must each be without blemish. 9 You must offer with them a grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 10 and a tenth of an ephah for each of the seven lambs. 11 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering. This will be in addition to the sin offering of atonement, the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
12 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you must have a holy assembly to honor Yahweh. You must not do regular work on that day, and you must celebrate the festival for him seven days. 13 You must offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. You must offer thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old. Each must be without blemish. 14 You must offer with them a grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three-tenths of an ephah for every bull of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each ram of the two rams, 15 and a tenth of an ephah for each of the fourteen lambs. 16 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and the drink offering with it.
17 On the second day of the assembly, you must offer twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 18 You must make with them a grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 19 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20 On the third day of the assembly, you must offer eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 21 You must make with them a grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 22 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
23 On the fourth day of the assembly, you must offer ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 24 You must make with them a grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 25 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
26 On the fifth day of the assembly, you must offer nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 27 You must make with them a grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 28 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
29 On the sixth day of the assembly, you must offer eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 30 You must make with them a grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 31 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
32 On the seventh day of the assembly, you must offer seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 33 You must make with them a grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 34 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
35 On the eighth day you must have another solemn assembly. You must not do regular work on that day. 36 You must make a burnt offering, an offering made by fire to produce a sweet aroma for Yahweh. You must offer one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, each without blemish. 37 You must offer their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, making as many offerings as were commanded. 38 You must offer one male goat as a sin offering in addition to the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
39 These are what you must offer to Yahweh at your fixed festivals. These must be in addition to your vows and freewill offerings. You must offer these as your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and fellowship offerings.'" 40 Moses told the people of Israel everything that Yahweh had commanded him to say.
1 Moses spoke to the leaders of the tribes of the people of Israel. He said, "This is what Yahweh has commanded. 2 When a man makes a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind himself with a binding promise, he must not break his word. He must keep his promise to do everything that comes out of his mouth. 3 When a young woman living in her father's house makes a vow to Yahweh and binds herself with a promise, while within the house of her father, 4 if her father hears the vow and the promise by which she has bound herself, and if he says nothing to reverse her, then all her vows will remain in force, and every pledge by which she has bound herself will stand. 5 But if her father overrules her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; Yahweh will forgive her because her father has forbidden her. 6 If she marries a husband after she makes a vow or her lips uttered a rash promise by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows will stand, and the pledges by which she bound herself will stand. 8 But if her husband stops her on the day that he hears about it, then he cancels the vow that she has made, the rash talk of her lips with which she has bound herself, and Yahweh will forgive her. 9 But any vow of a widow or a divorced woman will stand against her. 10 If a woman made a vow in her husband's house or bound herself by a promise with an oath, 11 and her husband hears of it but he says nothing to her and he does not oppose her, then all her vows will stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself will stand. 12 But if her husband cancels them on the day that he heard about them, then whatever came out of her lips about her vows or promises will not stand. Her husband has canceled them, and Yahweh will forgive her. 13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict her, her husband may make it stand or her husband may cancel it. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows and binding promises that she has made, and they will stand, because he has said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them. 15 If her husband cancels his wife's vow after he has heard about them, then he will be responsible for her guilt." 16 These are the statutes that Yahweh commanded Moses to announce—statutes for what is between a man and his wife and between a father and his daughter when she is in her youth in her father's family.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After doing that, you will die and be gathered to your people." 3 So Moses spoke to the people. He said, "Arm some of your men for war so they may go against Midian and carry out Yahweh's vengeance on it. 4 Every tribe throughout Israel must send a thousand soldiers to war." 5 So out of Israel's thousands of men, one thousand from each tribe were provided from the clans of Israel, twelve thousand men armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to battle, a thousand from every tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and with some articles from the holy place and the trumpets in his possession for sounding signals. 7 They fought against Midian, as Yahweh had commanded Moses. They killed every man. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their dead: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor, with the sword. 9 The army of Israel took captive the women of Midian, their children, all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. They took these as plunder. 10 They burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps. 11 They took all the plunder and prisoners, both people and animals. 12 They brought the prisoners, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the community of the people of Israel. They brought these to the camp in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan near Jericho.
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from serving in the battle. 15 Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live? 16 Look, these women caused the people of Israel, through Balaam's advice, to commit faithlessness against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, when the plague spread among Yahweh's community. 17 Now then, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by lying with him. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man by lying with him. 19 All of you who have killed anyone or touched anyone who was killed must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you must purify yourselves and your captives. 20 You must purify every garment and everything made of animal hide and goats' hair, and everything made of wood."
21 Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone to war, "This is a decreed law that Yahweh has commanded Moses: 22 The gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, 23 and everything that resists fire, you must put it through the fire, and it will become clean. You must then purify those things with the water of cleansing. Whatever cannot go through the fire you must cleanse with that water. 24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and then you will become clean. Afterward you may come into Israel's camp."
25 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 26 "You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the community's ancestral clans are to count all the plundered things that were captured, both men and animals. 27 Divide the plunder into two parts. Divide it between the soldiers who went out to battle and all the rest of the community. 28 Then levy a tax to be given to me from the soldiers who went out to battle. This tax must be one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or goats. 29 Take this tax from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest for a contribution to Yahweh. 30 Also from the people of Israel's half, you must take one out of every fifty—from the persons, cattle, donkeys, and sheep—from all the animals. Give these to the Levites who perform the duties of my tabernacle." 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
32 Now the booty that remained of the spoil that the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand women who had not known a man by lying with him. 36 The half that was kept for the soldiers numbered 337,000 sheep, 37 and the tax for Yahweh of the sheep was 675.
38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, from which the tax for Yahweh was seventy-two.
39 The donkeys were 30,500 from which the tax for Yahweh was sixty-one.
40 The persons were sixteen thousand women, from which the tax for Yahweh was thirty-two.
41 Moses took the tax that was to be a contribution presented to Yahweh. He gave it to Eleazar the priest, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
42 As for the people of Israel's half that Moses had taken from the soldiers who had gone to war— 43 the community's half was 337,500 sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand oxen, 45 30,500 donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand women. 47 From the people of Israel's half, Moses took one out of every fifty, both of people and animals. He gave them to the Levites who performed the duties of Yahweh's tabernacle, as Yahweh had commanded him to do.
48 Then the officers of the army, the commanders over thousands and the captains over hundreds, came to Moses. 49 They said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the soldiers who are under our command, and not one man is missing. 50 We have brought Yahweh's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before Yahweh." 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold—all the articles of craftsmanship. 52 All the gold of the contribution that they gave to Yahweh—the offerings from the commanders of thousands and from the captains of hundreds—weighed 16,750 shekels. 53 Each soldier had taken plunder, each man for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of thousands and captains of hundreds. They took it into the tent of meeting as a reminder of the people of Israel for Yahweh.
1 Now the descendants of Reuben and of Gad had large numbers of livestock. When they saw the land of Jazer and Gilead, the land was a wonderful place for livestock. 2 So the descendants of Gad and Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the community. They said, 3 "This is a list of places we have surveyed: Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon. 4 These are the lands that Yahweh attacked before the community of Israel, and they are good places for livestock. We, your servants, have a lot of livestock." 5 They said, "If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to us, your servants, as a possession. Do not make us cross over the Jordan."
6 Moses replied to the descendants of Gad and Reuben, "Should your brothers go to war while you settle down here? 7 Why discourage the hearts of the people of Israel from going over into the land that Yahweh has given them? 8 Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to examine the land. 9 They went up to the Valley of Eshkol. They saw the land and then discouraged the hearts of the people of Israel so that they refused to enter the land that Yahweh had given them. 10 Yahweh's anger was kindled on that day. He took an oath and said, 11 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and up, will see the land about which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not completely followed me, except for 12 Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun. Only Caleb and Joshua have completely followed me.' 13 So Yahweh's anger was kindled against Israel. He made them wander around in the wilderness for forty years until all the generation who had done evil in his sight was destroyed. 14 Look, you have risen up in your fathers' place, like just more sinful men, to add to Yahweh's burning anger toward Israel. 15 If you turn away from following him, he will again leave Israel in the wilderness and you will have destroyed all this people."
16 So they came near Moses and said, "Allow us to build fences here for our livestock and cities for our families. 17 However, we ourselves will be ready and armed to go with Israel's army until we have led them into their place. But our families will live in the fortified cities because of the other people who still live in this land. 18 We will not return to our houses until every one of the people of Israel has obtained his inheritance. 19 We will not inherit the land with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance is here on the east side of the Jordan."
20 So Moses replied to them, "If you do what you say, if you arm yourselves to go before Yahweh to war, 21 then every one of your armed men must cross over the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before him. Then afterward you may return. You will be guiltless toward Yahweh and toward Israel. This land will be your possession before Yahweh. 23 But if you do not do so, look, you will have sinned against Yahweh. Be sure that your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your families and pens for your sheep; then do what you have said." 25 The descendants of Gad and Reuben spoke to Moses and said, "Your servants will do as you, our master, commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our cattle, and all our livestock will stay there in the cities of Gilead. 27 However, we, your servants, every man who is armed for war, will cross over before Yahweh to battle, as our master says."
28 So Moses gave instructions concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the leaders of the ancestor's clans in the tribes of the people of Israel. 29 Moses said to them, "If the descendants of Gad and Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man who is armed to battle before Yahweh, and if the land is subdued before you, then you will give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30 But if they do not cross over with you armed, then they will acquire their possessions among you in the land of Canaan." 31 So the descendants of Gad and Reuben answered and said, "As Yahweh has said to us, your servants, this is what we will do. 32 We will cross over armed before Yahweh into the land of Canaan, but our possessed inheritance will remain with us on this side of the Jordan."
33 So to the descendants of Gad and Reuben, and also to the half tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph, Moses gave the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. He gave to them the land, and distributed to them all its cities with their borders, the cities of the land around them. 34 The descendants of Gad rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran as fortified cities with pens for sheep. 37 The descendants of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal Meon—their names were later changed, and Sibmah. They gave other names to the cities that they rebuilt. 39 The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it away from the Amorites who were in it. 40 Then Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and his people settled there. 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured its towns and called them Havvoth Jair. 42 Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.
1 These were the movements of the people of Israel after they left the land of Egypt by their armed groups under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 Moses wrote down the places from where they left to where they went, as commanded by Yahweh. These were their movements, departure after departure. 3 They traveled from Rameses during the first month, leaving on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the morning after the Passover, the people of Israel left openly, in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 This happened while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, those whom Yahweh had killed among them, for he also made judgments against their gods.
5 The people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Sukkoth. 6 They set out from Sukkoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 7 They set out from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is opposite Baal Zephon, where they camped opposite Migdol. 8 Then they set out from opposite Pi Hahiroth and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness. They traveled three days' journey into the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. 9 They set out from Marah and arrived at Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. That is where they camped. 10 They set out from Elim and camped by the Sea of Reeds. 11 They set out from the Sea of Reeds and camped in the wilderness of Sin. 12 They set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 They set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 They set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where no water was found for the people to drink. 15 They set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. 16 They set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah. 17 They set out from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18 They set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 They set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez. 20 They set out from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah. 21 They set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 They set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 They set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 They set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 They set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 They set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31 They set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan. 32 They set out from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad. 33 They set out from Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34 They set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 They set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. 36 They set out from Ezion Geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin at Kadesh. 37 They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.
38 Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at Yahweh's command and died there in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40 The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the southern wilderness in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.
41 They set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 They set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They set out from Punon and camped at Oboth. 44 They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab. 45 They set out from Iye Abarim and camped at Dibon Gad. 46 They set out from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim. 47 They set out from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, opposite Nebo. 48 They set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim in the plains of Moab.
50 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said, 51 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you must drive out all the land's inhabitants before you. You must destroy all their carved figures. You must destroy all their cast metal images and demolish all their high places. 53 You must take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given you the land to possess. 54 You must inherit the land by lot, according to each clan. To the larger clans you must give a larger share of land, and to the smaller clans you must give a smaller share of land. Wherever the lot falls to each clan, that land will belong to it. You will inherit the land according to your ancestors' tribes. 55 But if you do not drive out the land's inhabitants before you, then the people you allow to stay will become like objects in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will make your lives difficult in the land where you settle. 56 Then it will happen that what I now intend to do to those people, I will do also to you.'"
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 2 "Command the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land of Canaan, the land that will belong to you, the land of Canaan and its borders,
3 your southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. The eastern end of the southern border will be on a line that ends at the southern end of the Salt Sea. 4 Your border will turn south from the hill of Akrabbim and pass along through the wilderness of Zin. From there, it will run south of Kadesh Barnea and continue to Hazar Addar and further to Azmon. 5 From there, the border will turn from Azmon toward the brook of Egypt and follow it to the sea.
6 The western border will be the coastline of the Great Sea. This will be your western border.
7 Your northern border will extend along a line that you must mark out from the Great Sea to Mount Hor, 8 then from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath, then on to Zedad. 9 Then the border will continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.
10 Then you must mark out your eastern border from Hazar Enan south to Shepham. 11 Then the eastern border will go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. The border will continue along the east side of the Sea of Kinnereth. 12 Then the border will continue south along the Jordan River to the Salt Sea and continue down the eastern border of the Salt Sea. This will be your land, following its borders all around.'"
13 Then Moses commanded the people of Israel and said, "This is the land that you will receive by lot as a possession, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half tribe. 14 The tribe of the descendants of Reuben, following the assignment of property to their ancestor's tribe, and the tribe of the descendants of Gad, following the assignment of property to their ancestor's tribe, and the half tribe of Manasseh have all received their land. 15 The two tribes and the half tribe have received their possession beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise."
16 Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 17 "These are the names of the men who will divide the land for your inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. 18 You must choose one leader from every tribe to divide the land as their possession. 19 These are the names of the men:
From the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh.
20 From the tribe of the descendants of Simeon, Shemuel son of Ammihud.
21 From the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon.
22 From of the tribe of the descendants of Dan a leader, Bukki son of Jogli.
23 From the descendants of Joseph, of the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod.
24 From the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan.
25 From the tribe of the descendants of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan son of Parnak.
26 From the tribe of the descendants of Issachar a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan.
27 From the tribe of the descendants of Asher a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi.
28 From the tribe of the descendants of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud."
29 Yahweh commanded these men to divide the land of Canaan and to give it to each of the tribes of Israel as their possession.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said, 2 "Command the people of Israel to give some of their own shares of the inheritance that they possess to the Levites. They must give them cities to live in and pastureland surrounding those cities. 3 The Levites will have these cities to live in. The pastureland will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their other animals. 4 The pasturelands around the cities that you will give to the Levites must extend from the city walls for one thousand cubits in every direction. 5 You must measure two thousand cubits from outside the city on the east side, and two thousand cubits to the south side, two thousand cubits to the west side, and two thousand cubits to the north side. This will be the pasturelands for their cities. The cities will be in the center. 6 Six of the cities that you will give to Levites must serve as cities of refuge. You must provide these as places to which a person who has killed someone can flee. Also provide forty-two other cities. 7 The cities that you give to the Levites will total forty-eight. You must give their pasturelands with them. 8 As for the cities which you will give from the possession of the children of Israel, from tribes with many you shall take many, and from tribes with few you shall take few. Every tribe according to its inheritance shall give some of his cities to the Levites."
9 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, 10 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then you must choose cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, a place to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee. 12 These cities must be your refuge from the avenger, so that the killer will not die without first standing trial before the community. 13 You must choose six cities as cities of refuge. 14 You must provide three cities beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. They will be cities of refuge. 15 For the people of Israel, for the foreigner, and for the sojourner, these six cities will serve as a refuge to which anyone who kills someone unintentionally can flee.
16 But if an accused man has struck his victim with an instrument of iron, and if his victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death. 17 If an accused man has struck his victim with a stone in his hand that might kill the victim, and if his victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death. 18 If an accused man has struck his victim with a wooden weapon that might kill the victim, and if the victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood must put the murderer to death. When he meets him, the avenger of blood must put him to death. 20 If he strikes another in hatred or throws something at him, while hiding to ambush him, so that the victim dies, 21 or if he strikes him down in hatred with his hand so that the victim dies, then the accused who struck him must surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22 But if an accused man suddenly hits a victim without premeditated hate or throws something that hits the victim without lying in wait 23 or if he throws a stone that could kill a victim without seeing the victim, then the accused was not the victim's enemy; he was not trying to hurt the victim. But this is what to do if the victim dies anyway. 24 In that case, the community must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood on the basis of these rules. 25 The community must rescue the killer from the power of the avenger of blood. The community must return the accused to the city of refuge to which he had originally fled. He must live there until the death of the current high priest, the one who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the killer at any time goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he fled, 27 and if the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and if he kills the killer, the avenger of blood will not be guilty of murder. 28 This is because the accused man should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. After the death of the high priest, the killer may return to the land where he has his own property.
29 These laws must be statutes for you through all your people's generations in all the places where you live. 30 Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be killed, as testified to by the words of witnesses. But one witness's word alone may not cause any person to be put to death. 31 Also, you must not accept ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of murder. He must certainly be put to death. 32 You must not accept ransom for the one who has fled to a city of refuge. You must not in this way allow him to reside on his own property until the high priest dies. 33 Do not pollute in this way the land where you live, because blood from murder pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land when blood has been shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 So you must not defile the land in which you live because I am living in it. I, Yahweh, live among the people of Israel.'"
1 Then the leaders of the ancestors' families of the clan of Gilead son of Makir (who was Manasseh's son), who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses and before the leaders who were the heads of the ancestor's families of the people of Israel. 2 They said, "Yahweh commanded you, our master, to give a share of land by lot to the people of Israel. You were commanded by Yahweh to give the possession of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 But if his daughters marry men in another tribe of the people of Israel, then their share of land will be removed from our ancestor's share. It will be added to the share of the tribes that they join. In that case, it will be removed from the assigned share of our inheritance. 4 In that case, when the year of Jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their possession will be joined to the possession of the tribe that they have joined. In this way, their possession will be taken away from the possession of our ancestors' tribe."
5 So Moses gave a command to the people of Israel, at Yahweh's word. He said, "What the tribe of Joseph's descendants says is right. 6 This is what Yahweh commands concerning Zelophehad's daughters. He says, 'Let them be married to whom they think best, but they must marry only within the clan of the tribe of their father.' 7 No possession of the people of Israel must change from one tribe to another. Each one of the people of Israel must continue with the possession of his ancestor's tribe. 8 Every woman of the people of Israel who has a possession in her tribe must marry someone from the clans belonging to her father's tribe. This is so that everyone of the people of Israel may own an inheritance from his ancestors. 9 No share may change hands from one tribe to another. Everyone of the tribes of the people of Israel must keep his own inheritance."
10 So Zelophehad's daughters did as Yahweh had commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married descendants of Manasseh. 12 They married into the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph. In this way, their inheritances remained in the tribe to which their father's clan belonged.
13 These are the commands and the decrees that Yahweh gave by Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain of the Jordan River valley over against Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. 3 It happened in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the people of Israel, telling them all that Yahweh commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after Yahweh had attacked Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth at Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to announce these instructions, saying,
6 "Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, 'You have lived long enough in this hill country. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there in the plain of the Jordan River valley, in the hill country, in the lowlands, in the Negev, and by the seashore—the land of the Canaanites, and in Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 Look, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land that Yahweh swore 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 carry you myself alone. 10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and, look, you are today as the multitude of the stars of heaven. 11 May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you! 12 But how can I myself alone carry your loads, your burdens, and your disputes? 13 Take wise men, understanding men, and men of good repute from each tribe, and I will make them heads over you.' 14 You answered me and said, 'The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.' 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and men of good repute, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe. 16 I commanded your judges at that time, saying, 'Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is with him. 17 You will not show partiality to anyone in a dispute; you will hear the small and the great alike. You will not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's. The dispute that is too hard for you, you will bring to me, and I will hear it.' 18 I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
19 We journeyed away from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness that you saw, on our way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God is giving to us. 21 Look, Yahweh your God has set the land before you; go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; do not be afraid, neither be discouraged.' 22 Every one of you came to me and said, 'Let us send men ahead of us, so that they may search out the land for us, and bring us word about the way by which we should attack, and about the cities to which we will come.' 23 The advice pleased me well; I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe. 24 They turned and went up into the hill country, came to the Valley of Eshkol, and scouted it. 25 They took some of the produce of the land in their hands and brought it down to us. They also brought us word and said, 'It is a good land that Yahweh our God is giving to us.'
26 Yet you refused to attack, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God. 27 You complained in your tents and said, "It is because Yahweh hated us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go now? Our brothers have made our heart to melt, saying, 'Those people are bigger and taller than we are; their cities are large and are fortified up to the heavens; moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'" 29 Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified, neither be afraid of them. 30 Yahweh your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, like everything that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and also in the wilderness, where you have seen how Yahweh your God carried you, as a man carries his son, everywhere you went until you came to this place.' 32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe Yahweh your God, 33 who went before you on the way to find a place for you to make camp, in fire by night and in a cloud by day.
34 Yahweh heard the sound of your words and was angry; he swore and said, 35 'Surely not one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it and I will give him and his descendants the land that he has stepped on, because he wholly followed Yahweh.' 37 Also Yahweh was angry with me because of you, saying, 'You also will not go in there; 38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, he will go in there; encourage him, for he will lead Israel to inherit it. 39 Moreover, your little children, the ones you said would be victims, who today have no knowledge of good or evil—they will go in there. To them I will give it, and they will possess it. 40 But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness along the way to the Sea of Reeds.'
41 Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against Yahweh; we will go up and fight, and we will follow all that Yahweh our God has commanded us to do.' Every man among you girded on his weapons of war, and you were ready to attack the hill country. 42 Yahweh said to me, 'Say to them, "Do not attack and do not fight, for I will not be with you, and you will be defeated by your enemies.' 43 I spoke to you in this way, but you did not listen. You rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh; you were arrogant and attacked the hill country. 44 But the Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you and chased you like bees, and crushed you in Seir, as far as Hormah. 45 You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh did not listen to your voice, nor did he pay attention to you. 46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days, all the days that you stayed there.
1 Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Sea of Reeds, as Yahweh had spoken to me; we went around Mount Seir for many days. 2 Yahweh spoke to me, saying, 3 'You have gone around this mountain long enough; turn northward. 4 Command the people, saying, "You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; they will be afraid of you. Therefore be careful 5 not to fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not even enough for the sole of a foot to step on; for I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You will purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; you will also buy water from them for money, so that you may drink. 7 For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; he has known your walking through this great wilderness. For these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing."' 8 So we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, from Elath and from Ezion Geber. Then we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 Yahweh said to me, 'Do not trouble Moab, and do not fight with them in battle. For I will not give you his land for your own possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot, for their possession.' 10 (The Emites lived there previously, a people as great, as many, and as tall as the Anakim; 11 these also are considered to be the Rephaim, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them the Emites. 12 The Horites also lived in Seir previously, but the descendants of Esau succeeded them. They destroyed them from before them and lived in their place, like Israel did to the land of his possession that Yahweh gave to them.) 13 "'Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.' So we went over the brook Zered. 14 Now the days from when we came from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the brook Zered, were thirty-eight years. It was by that time that all that generation of the men fit for fighting were gone from the people, as Yahweh had sworn to them. 15 Moreover, the hand of Yahweh was against that generation in order to destroy them from the people until they were gone.
16 So it happened, when all the men fit for fighting were dead and gone from among the people, 17 that Yahweh spoke to me, saying, 18 'You are today to pass over Ar, the border of Moab. 19 When you come near opposite the people of Ammon, do not trouble them or fight them; for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession; because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession.'" 20 (That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— 21 a people as great, as many, and as tall as the Anakim. But Yahweh destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they succeeded them and lived in their place. 22 This Yahweh also did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them, and the descendants of Esau succeeded them and have lived in their place even until today. 23 As for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) 24 "'Now rise up, go on your journey, and pass over the Valley of the Arnon; look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and fight with him in battle. 25 Today I will begin to put the fear and terror of you on the peoples that are under the whole sky; they will hear a report about you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.'
26 I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, 27 'Let me pass through your land; I will go along the highway; I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. 28 You will sell me food for money, so that I may eat; give me water for money, so that I may drink; only let me pass through on my feet; 29 as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, and as the Moabites who live in Ar, did for me; until I pass over the Jordan into the land that Yahweh our God is giving us.' 30 But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God had hardened his mind and made his heart obstinate, that he might defeat him by your might, which he has now done today. 31 Yahweh said to me, 'Look, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you; begin to possess it, in order that you may inherit his land.' 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. 33 Yahweh our God gave him over to us and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 We took all his cities at that time and completely destroyed every city—men and the women and the little ones; we left no survivor. 35 Only the livestock we took as booty for ourselves, along with the spoil of the cities that we had taken. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, all the way to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. Yahweh our God gave them into our hands. 37 It was only to the land of the descendants of Ammon that you did not go, as well as all the side of the Jabbok River, and the cities of the hill country—wherever Yahweh our God had forbidden us to go.
1 Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. Og, the king of Bashan, came and attacked us, he and all his people, to fight at Edrei. 2 Yahweh said to me, 'Do not fear him; for I have given you victory over him and have put all his people and his land under your control. You will do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.' 3 So Yahweh our God also gave us victory over Og the king of Bashan, and all his people were put under our control. We struck them down until not one survivor remained for him. 4 We took all his cities at that time. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 These were all cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; this was besides very many unwalled villages. 6 We completely destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, completely destroying every city—men and the women and the little ones. 7 But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves. 8 At that time we took the land out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir) 10 and all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, all the way to Salekah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan." 11 (For of the remnant of the Rephaim, only Og king of Bashan had remained. Look! His bed was a bed of iron. Was it not in Rabbah, where the descendants of Ammon live? It was nine cubits long and four cubits wide, the way people measure.)
12 "This land that we took in possession at that time—from Aroer, that is by the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead, and its cities—I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob in Bashan was called the land of Rephaim. 14 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took all the region of Argob to the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites. He called the region, even Bashan, by his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.) 15 I gave Gilead to Makir. 16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave territory from Gilead to the Valley of the Arnon—the middle of the valley is the territory's border—and to the Jabbok River, which is the border with the descendants of Ammon. 17 Another of its borders is also the plain of the Jordan River valley, from Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea) to the slopes of Mount Pisgah eastward.
18 I commanded you at that time, saying, 'Yahweh your God has given you this land to possess it; you, all the men of war, will pass over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19 But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock), will stay in your cities that I have given you, 20 until Yahweh gives rest to your brothers, as he has to you, until they also possess the land that Yahweh your God is giving them beyond the Jordan; then will you return, every man of you, to your own property that I have given you.' 21 I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings; Yahweh will do the same to all the kingdoms where you go over. 22 You will not fear them, for Yahweh your God is the one who will fight for you.'
23 I earnestly appealed to Yahweh at that time, saying, 24 'O Lord Yahweh, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or in earth that can do the same works as you have done, and the same mighty acts? 25 Let me go over, I beg you, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country, and also Lebanon.' 26 But Yahweh was angry with me because of you; he did not listen to me. Yahweh said to me, 'Let this be enough for you—speak no more to me about this matter: 27 go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward, northward, southward, and eastward; look with your eyes, for you will not go over the Jordan. 28 Instead, instruct Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will go over before this people, and he will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.' 29 So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.
1 Now, Israel, listen to the laws and the decrees that I am about to teach you, to do them; so that you may live and go in and possess the land that Yahweh, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You will not add to the words that I command you, neither will you diminish them, so that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am about to command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what Yahweh did because of Baal Peor; for all the men who followed the Baal of Peor, Yahweh your God has destroyed them from among you. 4 But you who clung to Yahweh your God are alive today, every one of you. 5 Look, I have taught you laws and decrees, as Yahweh my God had commanded me, that you should do so in the midst of the land which you are going into in order to possess it. 6 Therefore keep them and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear about all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' 7 For what other great nation is there that has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God is whenever we call upon him? 8 What other great nation is there that has laws and decrees so righteous as all this law that I am setting before you today?
9 Only pay attention and carefully guard yourself, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen, so that they do not leave your heart for all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children. 10 On the day that you stood before Yahweh your God at Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, 'Assemble me the people, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.' 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 Yahweh spoke to you out of the middle of the fire; you heard the voice with its words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant that he commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments. He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, so that you might do them in the land that you are crossing over to take possession of it.
15 So watch yourselves carefully—for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb out of the middle of the fire— 16 that you do not corrupt yourselves by making a carved image in the form of any figure, in the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the heavens, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, or the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 You must not lift your eyes up to the heavens and look at the sun, the moon, or the stars—all the host of the heavens—and be drawn away to worship them and adore them—those things of which Yahweh your God has given a share to all the peoples under all the heavens. 20 But Yahweh has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of his own inheritance, as you are today. 21 Yahweh was angry with me because of you; he swore that I would not go over the Jordan, and that I would not go into the good land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance. 22 Rather, I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you will go over and possess that good land. 23 Pay attention to yourselves, so that you do not forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything that Yahweh your God has forbidden you to make. 24 For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
25 When you beget children and children's children, and when you will have been in the land for a long time, and if you corrupt yourselves and make a carved figure in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, to provoke him to anger— 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from off the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but you will be completely destroyed. 27 Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations, where Yahweh will lead you away. 28 There you will serve other gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, hear, eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek Yahweh your God, and you will find him, when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress, and when all these things will have come on you, in those later days you will return to Yahweh your God and listen to his voice. 31 For Yahweh your God is a merciful God; he will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers that he swore to them.
32 Ask now about the days that are past, which were before your time, since the day that God created man on the earth, ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether there has been anything so great as this, or has anything like it ever been heard? 33 Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? 34 Or has God ever attempted to go and take for himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, as everything that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you these things were shown, so that you might know that Yahweh is God, and that there is no one else besides him. 36 Out of heaven he made you to hear his voice, so that he might instruct you; on earth he made you see his great fire; you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 Because he loved your fathers, he chose their descendants after them, and brought you out of Egypt with his presence, with his great power; 38 in order to drive out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as today. 39 Know therefore today, and lay it on your heart, that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no one else. 40 You will keep his statutes and his commandments that I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you forever."
41 Then Moses selected three cities on the east side of the Jordan, 42 so that anyone might flee to one of them if he killed another person accidentally, without being his enemy previously. By fleeing to one of these cities, he might survive. 43 They were: Bezer in the wilderness, the plain country, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
44 This is the law that Moses placed before the people of Israel; 45 these are the covenant decrees, laws, and ordinances that he spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 when they were east of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the people of Israel had defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 They took his land as a possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan—these, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the east. 48 This territory went from Aroer, on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, to Mount Siyon (or Mount Hermon), 49 and included all of the plain of the Jordan River valley, eastward beyond the Jordan, to the Sea of the Arabah, to the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
1 Moses called to all Israel and said to them, "Listen, Israel, to the statutes and the decrees that I will speak in your ears today, that you may learn them and keep them. 2 Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 Yahweh did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with us, all of us alive here today. 4 Yahweh spoke with you face to face on the mount out of the middle of the fire 5 (I stood between Yahweh and you at that time, to reveal to you his word; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain). Yahweh said,
6 'I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 You will have no other gods before me.
8 You will not make for yourself a carved figure nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water below. 9 You will not bow down to them or serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God. I punish the ancestors' wickedness by bringing punishment on the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 and showing steadfast love to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 You will not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.
12 Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you. 13 For six days you will labor and do all your work; 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. On it you will not do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your animals, nor any foreigner who is within your gates. This is so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You will call to mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God has commanded you to do, that you may live a long time in the land that Yahweh your God gives you, and so that it may go well with you.
17 You will not murder.
18 You will not commit adultery.
19 You will not steal.
20 You will not give false witness against your neighbor.
21 You will not covet your neighbor's wife, you will not covet your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'
22 These words Yahweh spoke in a loud voice to all your assembly on the mountain out of the middle of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness; he did not add any more words. He wrote them down on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 It came about, when you heard the voice out of the middle of the darkness, while the mountain was burning, that you came near to me—all your elders and the heads of your tribes. 24 You said, 'Look, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire; we have seen today that when God speaks with people, they can live. 25 But why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of Yahweh our God any longer, we will die. 26 For who besides us is there among all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speak out of the middle of the fire and lived, as we have done? 27 As for you, you should go and listen to everything that Yahweh our God says; repeat to us everything that Yahweh our God says to you; we will listen to it and obey it.'
28 Yahweh heard your words when you spoke to me. He said to me, 'I have heard the words of this people, what they said to you. What they said was good. 29 Oh, that there were such a heart in them, that they would honor me and always keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their children forever! 30 Go say to them, "Return to your tents." 31 But as for you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, the statutes, and the decrees that you will teach them, so that they may keep them in the land that I will give them to possess.' 32 You will keep, therefore, what Yahweh your God has commanded you; you will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You will walk in all the ways that Yahweh your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and so that it may go well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
1 Now these are the commandments, statutes, and decrees that Yahweh your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you might keep them in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess; 2 so that you might honor Yahweh your God, so as to keep all his statutes and commandments that I am commanding you—you, your sons, and your sons' sons, all the days of your lives, so that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore listen to them, Israel, and keep them, so that it may go well with you, so that you may greatly multiply, in a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you would do.
4 Listen, Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. 5 You will love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 The words that I am commanding you today will be in your heart; 7 and you will diligently teach them to your children; you will talk about them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 8 You will tie them as a sign upon your hand, and they will serve as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You will write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
10 When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, that he would give you, with large and very good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all kinds of good things that you did not make, cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant, you will eat and be satisfied— 12 then be careful so that you do not forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 13 You will honor Yahweh your God; him you will worship, and you will swear by his name. 14 You will not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you— 15 for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a jealous God—if you do, the anger of Yahweh your God will be kindled against you and he will destroy you from the surface of the earth.
16 You will not test Yahweh your God as you tested him at Massah. 17 You will diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, his solemn commands, and his statutes, that he has commanded you. 18 You will do what is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land that Yahweh swore to your fathers, 19 to drive out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has said.
20 When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What are the covenant decrees, the statutes, and the other decrees that Yahweh our God commanded you?' 21 then you will say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt; Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, 22 and he displayed signs and wonders, great and severe, on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his house, before our eyes; 23 and he brought us out from there, so that he might bring us in, to give us the land that he swore to our fathers. 24 Yahweh commanded us to always keep all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God for our good, so that he might keep us alive, as we are today. 25 If we keep all these commands before Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us, this will be our righteousness.'
1 When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you go to possess, he will drive out many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—seven nations greater and mightier than you. 2 It is Yahweh your God who gives them over to you when you defeat them, and then you must completely destroy them. You will make no covenant with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Neither will you arrange any marriages with them. You will not give your daughters to their sons, and you will not take their daughters for your sons. 4 For they will turn away your sons from following me, so that they may worship other gods. So the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and he will destroy you quickly. 5 This is how you will deal with them: You will break down their altars, dash their stone pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their cast idols.
6 For you are a nation that is set apart to Yahweh your God. He has chosen you to be a people for him to possess, more than all the other peoples that are on the face of the earth. 7 Yahweh did not set his love upon you or choose you because you were more in number than any people—for you were the fewest of all peoples— 8 but because he loves you, and he wished to keep the oath that he had sworn to your fathers. This is why Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 9 Therefore know that Yahweh your God—he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenants and faithfulness for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments, 10 but repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be lenient on whoever hates him; he will repay him to his face.
11 You will therefore keep the commandments, the statutes, and the decrees that I command you today, so that you will do them.
12 If you listen to these decrees, and keep and do them, it will happen that Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the faithfulness that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground—your grain, your new wine, and your oil—the calves of your herds and the young of your flocks in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than all other peoples; there will not be a childless male or a barren female among you or among your livestock. 15 Yahweh will take away from you all sickness; none of the evil diseases of Egypt that you have known will he put on you, but he will put them on all those who hate you. 16 You will consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God will give over to you, and your eye will not pity them. You will not worship their gods, for that will be a trap for you.
17 If you say in your heart, 'These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?'— 18 do not be afraid of them; you will call to mind what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt; 19 the great sufferings that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out. Yahweh your God will do the same to all the peoples whom you fear. 20 Moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left and who hide themselves from you perish from your presence. 21 You will not be frightened at them, for Yahweh your God is among you, a great and fearsome God. 22 Yahweh your God will drive out those nations before you little by little. You will not defeat them all at once, or the wild animals would become very many around you. 23 But Yahweh your God will give you victory over them when you meet them in battle; he will greatly confuse them until they are destroyed. 24 He will put their kings under your power, and you will make their name perish from under heaven. No one will be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them. 25 You will burn the carved figures of their gods—do not covet the silver or the gold that covers them and take it for yourself, because if you do, you will become trapped by it—for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God. 26 You will not bring any abomination into your house and start to worship it. You will utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.
1 You must keep all the commands that I am giving you today, so that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that Yahweh swore to your fathers. 2 You will call to mind all the ways that Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order that he might humble you, that he might test you to know what was in your heart, as to whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 He humbled you, and made you hunger, and fed you with manna, which you had not known and which your fathers had not known. He did that to make you know that it is not by bread alone that people live; rather, it is by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh that people live. 4 Your clothing did not wear out and fall off you, and your feet did not swell up during those forty years. 5 You will think about in your heart, how, as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God disciplines you. 6 You will keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, so that you might walk in his ways and honor him. 7 For Yahweh your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out into valleys and among hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines, fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey. 9 It is a land in which you will not eat bread in poverty and in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are made of iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper. 10 You will eat and be full, and you will bless Yahweh your God for the good land that he has given you.
11 Be careful that you do not forget Yahweh your God, by failing to keep his commandments and his rules and statutes that I am commanding you today. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are full, and when you build good houses and live in them, your heart will be lifted up. 13 Be careful when your herds and flocks multiply and when your silver and gold increase, and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart becomes lifted up and you forget Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 15 Do not forget him who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the rock of flint. 16 He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors had never known, so that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end, 17 but you may say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand acquired all this wealth.' 18 But you will call to mind Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is today. 19 It will happen that, if you will forget Yahweh your God and walk after other gods, worship them, and reverence them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. 20 Like the nations that Yahweh is making to perish before you, so will you perish, because you would not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
1 Hear, Israel; you are about to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, and cities that are great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard people say, 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' 3 Know therefore today that Yahweh your God is he who goes over before you like a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you; so will you drive them out and make them to perish quickly, as Yahweh has said to you. 4 Do not say in your heart, after Yahweh your God has thrust them out from before you, 'It was because of my righteousness that Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land,' for it was because of the wickedness of these nations that Yahweh is driving them out from before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that your God is driving them out from before you, and so that he may make come true the word that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6 Know therefore, that Yahweh your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. 7 Remember and do not forget how you provoked Yahweh your God to anger in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. 8 Also at Horeb you provoked Yahweh to anger, and Yahweh was angry enough with you to destroy you. 9 When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that Yahweh made with you, I stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 Yahweh gave to me the two tablets of stone written with his finger; on them was written everything just like all the words that Yahweh announced to you on the mountain out of the middle of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 It happened at the end of those forty days and forty nights that Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Yahweh said to me, 'Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside out of the path that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a cast figure.' 13 Furthermore, Yahweh spoke to me and said, 'I have seen this people; they are a stubborn people. 14 Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.' 15 So I turned around and came down the mountain, and the mountain was burning. The two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. 16 I looked, and behold, you had sinned against Yahweh your God. You had molded for yourselves a calf. You had quickly turned aside out of the path that Yahweh had commanded you. 17 I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands. I broke them before your eyes. 18 Again I lay facedown before Yahweh for forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin that you had committed, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so as to provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which Yahweh was angry enough against you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also. 20 Yahweh was very angry with Aaron so as to destroy him; I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. 21 I took your sin, the calf that you had made, and burned it, beat it, and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust. I threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.
22 At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah, you provoked Yahweh to wrath. 23 When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh Barnea and said, 'Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,' then you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God, and you did not believe or listen to his voice. 24 You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day that I knew you.
25 So I lay facedown before Yahweh those forty days and forty nights, because he had said that he would destroy you. 26 I prayed to Yahweh and said, 'O Lord Yahweh, do not destroy your people or your inheritance whom you have redeemed through your greatness, which you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 Call to mind your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people, nor at their wickedness, nor at their sin, 28 so that the land from where you brought us should say, "Because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land that he promised to them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness." 29 Yet they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out by your great strength and by the display of your power.'
1 At that time Yahweh said to me, 'Carve two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you will put them in the ark.' 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, and I carved two tablets of stone like the first, and I went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. 4 He wrote on the tablets, like the first writing, the Ten Commandments which Yahweh had spoken to you on the mountain out of the middle of the fire on the day of the assembly; then Yahweh gave them to me. 5 I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark that I had made; there they are, as Yahweh commanded me." 6 (The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene Jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried; Eleazar, his son, served in the priest's office in his place. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water. 8 At that time Yahweh chose the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, to stand before Yahweh to serve him, and to bless people in his name, as today. 9 Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance of land with his brothers; Yahweh is his inheritance, as Yahweh your God spoke to him.) 10 "I stayed on the mountain as at the first time, forty days and forty nights. Yahweh listened to me that time also; Yahweh did not wish to destroy you. 11 Yahweh said to me, 'Arise, go before the people to lead them on their journey; they will go in and possess the land that I swore to their ancestors to give to them.'
12 Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, except to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to worship Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 to keep the commandments of Yahweh, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today for your own good? 14 Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is in them. 15 Only Yahweh took pleasure in your fathers so as to love them, and he chose you, their descendants, after them, more than any of the other peoples, as he does today. 16 Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and no longer stiffen your necks. 17 For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods and Lord of lords, the Great God, the Mighty One and the Fearsome One, who favors no one and takes no bribes. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and he shows love for the foreigner by giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore love the foreigner; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 20 You will fear Yahweh your God; him will you worship. To him you must cling, and by his name will you swear. 21 He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done for you these great and fearsome things, which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down into Egypt as seventy persons; now Yahweh your God has made you as many as the stars of the heavens.
1 Therefore you will love Yahweh your God and always keep his instructions, his statutes, his decrees, and his commandments. 2 Notice that I am not speaking to your children, who have not known nor have they seen the punishment of Yahweh your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, or his outstretched arm, 3 the signs and deeds that he did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and to all his land. 4 Neither did they see what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses, or to their chariots, how he made the water of the Sea of Reeds overwhelm them as they pursued after you, and how Yahweh has destroyed them until today, 5 or what he did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place. 6 They had not seen what Yahweh had done to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the middle of all Israel. 7 But your eyes have seen all the great works of Yahweh that he did.
8 Therefore keep all the commandments that I am commanding you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land where you are going over to possess it, 9 and that you may prolong your days in the land that Yahweh swore to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land, where you go in to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt, from where you came, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot, like a garden of herbs; 11 but the land, where you go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water of the rain of the heavens, 12 a land that Yahweh your God cares for; the eyes of Yahweh your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13 It will happen, if you will listen diligently to my commandments that I command you today, to love Yahweh your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 I will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be full. 16 Pay attention to yourselves so that your heart is not deceived, and you turn aside and worship other gods and bow down to them; 17 so that the anger of Yahweh is not kindled against you; and so that he does not shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain, and the land will not yield its fruit, and so that you perish quickly from off the good land that Yahweh is giving you.
18 Therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and soul, bind them as a sign on your hand, and let them be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You will teach them to your children and talk about them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. 20 You will write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors to give them for as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you diligently keep all these commandments that I am commanding you, so as to do them, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cling to him, 23 then Yahweh will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and mightier than yourselves. 24 Every place where the sole of your foot will tread will be yours; from the wilderness to Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River, to the western sea will be your border. 25 No man will be able to stand before you. Yahweh your God will lay the fear of you and the terror of you upon all the land that you tread on, as he has said to you.
26 Look, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of Yahweh your God that I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of Yahweh your God, but turn aside from the way that I command you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. 29 It will happen, when Yahweh your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, that you will set the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the western road, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh? 31 For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to possess the land that Yahweh your God is giving you, and you will possess it and live in it. 32 You will keep all the statutes and the decrees that I set before you today.
1 These are the statutes and the decrees that you will keep in the land that Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2 You will surely destroy all the places where the nations that you will dispossess worshiped their gods, on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. 3 You must break down their altars, dash in pieces their stone pillars, and burn their Asherah poles. You must cut down the carved figures of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. 4 You will not worship Yahweh your God like that. 5 But to the place where Yahweh your God chooses out of all your tribes to establish his name, that will be the place where he lives, and it is there that you will go. 6 It is there that you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offerings presented by your hand, your offerings for vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 It is there that you will eat before Yahweh your God and rejoice about everything that you have put your hand to, you and your households, where Yahweh your God has blessed you. 8 You will not do all the things that we are doing here today; now everyone is doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9 for you have not yet come to the rest, to the inheritance that Yahweh your God is giving you. 10 But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that Yahweh your God is causing you to inherit, he will give you rest from all your enemies round about so that you live in safety. 11 Then to the place where Yahweh your God will choose to cause his name to live there—there you will bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offerings presented by your hand, and all your choice offerings for vows that you will vow to Yahweh. 12 You will rejoice before Yahweh your God—you, your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levites who are within your gate, because he has no portion or inheritance among you. 13 Pay attention to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings at every place that you see; 14 but it is at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes that you will offer your burnt offerings, and there you will do everything that I command you.
15 However, you may kill and eat animals within all your gates, as you desire, receiving the blessing of Yahweh your God for all that he has given you; the unclean and the clean persons both may eat of it, animals such as the gazelle and the deer. 16 But you will not eat the blood; you will pour it out on the earth like water. 17 You must not eat within your gates from the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock; and you must not eat any of the meat you sacrifice along with any of your vows that you make, nor that of your freewill offerings, nor that of the offering you present with your hand. 18 Instead, you will eat them before Yahweh your God in the place that Yahweh your God will choose—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; you will rejoice before Yahweh your God about everything to which you put your hand. 19 Pay attention to yourself so that you do not abandon the Levite as long as you live on your land.
20 When Yahweh your God enlarges your borders, as he has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat flesh,' because of your desire to eat meat, you may eat meat, as your soul desires. 21 If the place where Yahweh your God chooses to establish his name is too far from you, then you will kill some of your herd and your flock that Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; you may eat within your gates, as your soul desires. 22 Like the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you will eat of it; the unclean and the clean persons may eat of it alike. 23 Only be sure that you do not consume the blood, for the blood is the life; you will not eat the life with the meat. 24 You will not eat it; you will pour it out on the earth like water. 25 You will not eat it, so that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, when you will do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh. 26 But the things that belong to Yahweh that you have and the offerings for your vows—you will take these and go to the place that Yahweh chooses. 27 There you will offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of Yahweh your God; the blood of your sacrifices will be poured out on the altar of Yahweh your God, and you will eat the flesh. 28 Observe and listen to all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.
29 When Yahweh your God cuts off the nations from before you, when you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them, and live in their land, 30 pay attention to yourself that you are not trapped into following them, after they are destroyed from before you—trapped into investigating their gods, into asking, 'How do these nations worship their gods? I will do the same.' 31 You must not worship Yahweh your God in that way, for everything that is an abomination to Yahweh, things that he hates—they have done these with their gods; they even burn their sons and their daughters in fire for their gods.
32 Whatever I command you, observe it. Do not add to it or take away from it.
1 If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and if he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and if the sign or the wonder comes about, of which he spoke to you and said, 'Let us go after other gods, that you have not known, and let us worship them,' 3 do not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You will walk after Yahweh your God, honor him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you will worship him and cling to him. 5 That prophet or that dreamer of dreams will be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and who redeemed you out of the house of bondage. That prophet wants to draw you out of the way in which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk. So completely remove the evil from among you.
6 Suppose that your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is to you like your own soul, secretly entices you and says, 'Let us go and worship other gods' which you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors— 7 any of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, near to you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.' 8 You must not give in to him or listen to him, and you must not permit your eye to pity him, and you must not spare him or conceal him. 9 Instead, you will surely kill him; your hand will be the first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 You will stone him to death with stones, because he has tried to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 11 All Israel will hear and fear, and will not continue to do this kind of wickedness among you.
12 If you hear anyone say about one of your cities, that Yahweh your God gives you to live in: 13 Some wicked fellows have gone out from among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city and said, 'Let us go and worship other gods that you have not known.' 14 Then you will examine the evidence, make search, and investigate it thoroughly. When you discover that it is true and certain that such an abominable thing has been done among you, then you will take action. 15 You will surely attack the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, completely destroy it and all the people who are in it, along with its livestock, with the edge of the sword. 16 You will gather all the spoil from it into the middle of its street and will burn the city, as well as all its booty, as a burnt offering for Yahweh your God. The city will be a heap of ruins forever; it must never be built again. 17 None of those things set apart for destruction must stick in your hand. This must be the case, so that Yahweh will turn from the burning of his anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and make you increase in numbers, as he has sworn to your fathers. 18 He will do this because you are listening to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all his commandments that I am commanding you today, to do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh your God.
1 You are the people of Yahweh your God. Do not cut yourselves, nor shave any part of your face for the dead. 2 For you are a nation that is set apart to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, more than all peoples that are on the surface of the earth.
3 You must not eat any abominable thing. 4 These are the animals that you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, and ibex, and the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 You may eat any animals that parts the hoof, that is, that has the hoof divided in two, and that chews the cud. 7 Nevertheless, you must not eat some animals that chew the cud or that have the hoof divided in two: the camel, the rabbit, and the rock badger; because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, they are unclean to you. 8 The pig is unclean to you as well because he parts the hoof but does not chew the cud; he is unclean to you. Do not eat pig meat, and do not touch their carcasses.
9 Of these things that are in water you may eat: whatever has fins and scales; 10 but whatever has no fins and scales you must not eat; they are unclean to you.
11 All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these are the birds that you must not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, 13 the red kite and black kite, any kind of falcon. 14 You must not eat any kind of raven, 15 and the ostrich, and the night hawk, the sea gull, any kind of hawk, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17 the pelican, the osprey, the cormorant. 18 You must not eat the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 19 All winged, swarming things are unclean to you; they must not be eaten. 20 You may eat all clean flying things.
21 You must not eat of anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the foreigner who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a nation that is set apart to Yahweh your God. You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
22 You must surely tithe all the yield of your seed, that which comes out from the field year after year. 23 You must eat before Yahweh your God, in the place where he will choose to make a dwelling for his name, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock; that you may learn to always honor Yahweh your God. 24 If the journey is too long for you so that you are not able to carry it, because the place where Yahweh your God will choose to establish his name is too far from you, then, when Yahweh God blesses you, 25 you will convert the offering into money, tie up the money in your hand, and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose. 26 There you will spend the money for whatever you desire: cattle, sheep, wine or strong drink, or for whatever you desire. Then you will eat there before Yahweh your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 The Levite who is within your gates—do not abandon him, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
28 At the end of every three years you will present all the tithe of your produce in the same year, and you will store it up within your gates; 29 and the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates, will come and eat and be satisfied. Do this so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand that you do.
1 At the end of every seven years, you must cancel debts. 2 This is the manner of the release: Every creditor will cancel that which he has lent to his neighbor; he will not demand it from his neighbor or his brother because Yahweh's cancellation of debts has been proclaimed. 3 From a foreigner you may demand it; but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand must release. 4 However, there should be no poor among you (for Yahweh will surely bless you in the land that he gives you as an inheritance to possess), 5 if only you diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all these commandments that I am commanding you today. 6 For Yahweh your God will bless you, as he promised you; you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, within any of your gates in your land that Yahweh your God is giving you, you must not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother; 8 but you must surely open your hand to him and surely lend him sufficient for his need. 9 Be careful not to have a wicked thought in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is near,' so that you will not be stingy in regard to your poor brother and give him nothing; he might cry out to Yahweh about you, and it would be sin for you. 10 You must surely give to him, and your heart must not be sorry when you give to him, because in return for this Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you put your hand to. 11 For the poor will never cease to exist in the land; therefore I command you and say, 'You must surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your land.'
12 If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let him go free from you. 13 When you let him go free from you, you must not let him go empty-handed. 14 You must liberally provide for him out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As Yahweh your God has blessed you, you must give to him. 15 You must remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you today to do this. 16 It will happen that if he says to you, 'I will not go away from you,' because he loves you and your house, and because he is well off with you, 17 then you must take an awl and thrust it through his ear to a door, and he will be your servant for life. You must do the same with your female servant. 18 It must not seem difficult for you to let him go free from you, because he has served you for six years and given twice the value of a hired person. Yahweh your God will bless you in all that you do.
19 All the firstborn males in your herd and your flock you must set apart to Yahweh your God. You will do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You must eat the firstborn before Yahweh your God year by year in the place that Yahweh will choose, you and your household. 21 If it has any blemish—for example, if it is lame or blind, or has any blemish whatever—you must not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. 22 You will eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean persons alike must eat it, as you would eat a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you must not eat its blood; you must pour its blood out on the ground like water.
1 Observe the month of Aviv, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Aviv Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You will sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God with some of the flock and the herd in the place where Yahweh will choose to make a dwelling for his name. 3 You will eat no leavened bread with it; seven days will you eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Do this all the days of your life so that you may call to mind the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 No yeast must be seen among you within all your borders during seven days; nor must any of the meat that you sacrifice in the evening on the first day remain until the morning. 5 You must not sacrifice the Passover within any of your city gates that Yahweh your God is giving you. 6 Instead, sacrifice at the place where Yahweh your God will choose to make a dwelling for his name. There you will perform the sacrifice of the Passover in the evening at the going down of the sun, at the time of year that you came out of Egypt. 7 You must roast it and eat it at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; in the morning you will turn and go to your tents. 8 For six days you will eat unleavened bread; on the seventh day there will be a solemn assembly for Yahweh your God; on that day you must do no work.
9 You will count seven weeks for yourselves; from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain you must start counting seven weeks. 10 You must keep the Festival of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand that you will give, according as Yahweh your God has blessed you. 11 You will rejoice before Yahweh your God—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within your city gates, and the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place where Yahweh your God will choose to make a dwelling for his name. 12 You will call to mind that you were a slave in Egypt; you must observe and do these statutes.
13 You must keep the Festival of Shelters for seven days after you have gathered in the harvest from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 You will rejoice during your festival—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, and the foreigner, and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates. 15 For seven days you must observe the festival for Yahweh your God at the place that Yahweh will choose, because Yahweh your God will bless you in all your harvest and all the work of your hands, and you must be completely joyful. 16 Three times in a year all your males must appear before Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, at the Festival of Weeks, and at the Festival of Shelters. No one will appear before Yahweh empty-handed. 17 Rather, every man will bring a gift as he is able, that you might know the blessing that Yahweh your God has given to you.
18 You must make judges and officers within all your city gates that Yahweh your God is giving you; they will be taken from each of your tribes, and they must judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You must not take justice away by force; you must not show partiality nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 You must follow after justice, after justice alone, so that you may live and inherit the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
21 You must not set up for yourselves an Asherah, any sort of pole, beside the altar of Yahweh your God that you will make for yourself. 22 Neither must you set up for yourself any sacred stone pillar, which Yahweh your God hates.
1 You must not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is any blemish or anything bad, for that would be an abomination to Yahweh your God.
2 If there is found among you, within any of your city gates that Yahweh your God is giving you, any man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God and transgresses his covenant, 3 anyone who has gone and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, either the sun, the moon, or any of the host of heaven—nothing that I have commanded— 4 and if you are told about this, or if you have heard of it, then you must make a careful investigation. If it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, this is what you should do. 5 You must bring that man or woman, who has done this evil thing, to your city gates, that very man or woman, and you must stone that person to death. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, will he who must die be put to death; but at the mouth of only one witness he must not be put to death. 7 The hand of the witnesses must be the first to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people; and you will remove the evil from among you.
8 If a matter arises that is too hard for you to judge—perhaps a question of one kind of bloodshed or another, of one kind of lawsuit or another, or of one kind of wound or another—matters of controversy within your city gates—then you must go up to the place that Yahweh your God chooses. 9 You must go to the priests, the descendants of Levi, and to the judge who will be serving at that time; you will seek their advice, and they will give you the verdict. 10 Then you must do according to what they order you to do, at the place Yahweh will choose. Be careful to do all that they teach you. 11 Follow the law they teach you, and do according to the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right hand or to the left. 12 Anyone who acts in arrogance, listening neither to the priest who is standing to serve before Yahweh your God nor to the judge—that man will die; you will completely remove the evil from Israel. 13 All the people must hear and fear, and act arrogantly no more.
14 When you have come to the land that Yahweh your God gives you, and when you take possession of it and begin to live in it, and then you say, 'I will set a king over myself, like all the nations that are round about me,' 15 then you must surely set as king over yourself someone whom Yahweh your God will choose. You must set as king over yourself someone from among your brothers. You must not put a foreigner, who is not your brother, over yourself. 16 But he must not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt so that he may multiply horses, for Yahweh had said to you, 'You will never return that way again.' 17 He must not take many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he must write for himself in a scroll a copy of this law, from the law that is before the priests, who are Levites. 19 The scroll must be with him, and he must read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to honor Yahweh his God, so as to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to observe them. 20 He must do this so that his heart is not lifted up above his brothers, and so that he does not turn away from the commandments, to the right hand or to the left, so he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his descendants in the midst of Israel.
1 The priests, who are Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, will have no portion nor inheritance with Israel; they must eat the offerings of Yahweh made by fire as their inheritance. 2 They must have no inheritance among their brothers; Yahweh is their inheritance, as he said to them. 3 This is the share given to the priests, given to them from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it be an oxen or a sheep: the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the inner parts. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you must give him. 5 For Yahweh your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to serve in the name of Yahweh, him and his sons forever.
6 If a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel where he is living and desires with all his soul to come to the place Yahweh will choose, 7 then he must serve in the name of Yahweh his God as all his brothers the Levites do, who stand there before Yahweh. 8 They must have similar portions to eat, besides of what comes of the sale of his family's inheritance.
9 When you have come into the land that Yahweh your God is giving you, you must not learn to observe the abominations of those nations. 10 There must not be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or his daughter in the fire, or anyone who uses divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or one who casts spells or a sorcerer or a spiritist or one who seeks the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh; it is because of these abominations that Yahweh your God is driving them out from before you. 13 You must be blameless before Yahweh your God. 14 For these nations that you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and divination; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do so.
15 Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet from among you, one of your brothers, like me. You must listen to him. 16 This is what you asked from Yahweh your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let us not hear again the voice of Yahweh our God, nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.' 17 Yahweh said to me, 'What they have said is good. 18 I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers, just like you. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him. 19 It will happen that if anyone does not listen to the words of mine that he speaks in my name, I will require it of him.
20 But the prophet who speaks a word arrogantly in my name, a word that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that very prophet must die.' 21 This is what you must say in your heart: 'How will we recognize a message that Yahweh has not spoken?' 22 You will recognize a message that Yahweh has spoken when a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh. If that thing does not occur nor happen, then that is something that Yahweh has not spoken and the prophet has spoken it in arrogance, and you must not be afraid of him.
1 When Yahweh your God cuts off the nations, those whose land Yahweh your God is giving you, and when you come after them and live in their cities and houses, 2 you must select three cities for yourself in the middle of your land that Yahweh your God is giving you to possess. 3 You must build a road and divide the borders of your land into three parts, the land that Yahweh your God is causing you to inherit, so that everyone who kills another person may flee there.
4 This is the instruction concerning the one who kills another and flees from there in order to save his own life—the one who unintentionally kills his neighbor without hating him at the time of the accident. 5 For example, if a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and he chops with the ax to cut down a tree, and the ax head slips off of the handle and strikes his neighbor and kills him—then that man must flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise the avenger of blood might go after the one who took a life, and in the heat of his anger overtake him, if the distance is too great, strike him and kill him, even though that man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past. 7 Therefore I command you to select three cities for yourself. 8 If Yahweh your God enlarges your borders, as he has sworn to your ancestors to do, and gives you all the land that he promised to give to your ancestors; 9 if you keep all these commandments to do them, which I am commanding you today—commandments to love Yahweh your God and to always walk in his ways, then you must add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 Do this so that innocent blood is not shed in the midst of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you for as an inheritance, so that no bloodguilt may be on you.
11 But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and mortally wounds him so that he dies, and if he then flees into one of these cities— 12 then the elders of his city must send and bring him back from there, and turn him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 Your eye must not pity him; instead, you must completely remove the bloodguilt from Israel so that it may go well with you.
14 You must not remove your neighbor's landmark that they set in place a long time ago, in your inheritance that you will inherit, in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you to possess.
15 One sole witness must not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any matter that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, must any matter be confirmed. 16 Suppose that an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing. 17 Then both men, the ones between whom the controversy exists, must stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18 The judges must make diligent inquiries; see, if the witness is a false witness and has testified falsely against his brother, 19 then must you do to him, as he had wished to do to his brother; and you will remove the evil from among you. 20 Then those who remain will hear and fear, and will from then on commit no longer any such evil among you. 21 Your eyes must not pity; life will pay for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
1 When you march out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more numerous than you, you must not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, he who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 2 When you are about to enter into battle, the priest must approach and speak to the people. 3 He must say to them, 'Listen, Israel, you are going to battle against your enemies. Do not let your hearts faint. Do not fear or tremble. Do not be afraid of them. 4 For Yahweh your God is the one who is going with you to fight for you against your enemies and to save you.' 5 The officers must speak to the people and say, 'What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man dedicates it. 6 Is there anyone who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go home, so he will not die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit. 7 What man is there who is betrothed to a woman but has not yet married her? Let him go home so that he does not die in battle and another man marry her.' 8 The officers must speak further to the people and say, 'What man is there who is fearful or fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that his brother's heart does not melt like his own heart.' 9 When the officers have finished speaking to the people, they must appoint commanders of armies over them.
10 When you march up to attack a city, make those people an offer of peace. 11 If they answer peaceably and open their gates to you, all the people who are found in it must become forced labor for you and must serve you. 12 But if it makes no offer of peace to you, and instead makes war against you, then you must besiege it, 13 and when Yahweh your God gives you victory and puts them under your control, you must strike every man in the town with the edge of the sword. 14 But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and everything that is in the city, and all its spoil, you will take as booty for yourself. You will consume the booty of your enemies, whom Yahweh your God has given to you. 15 You must act in this way toward all the cities that are very far from you, cities that are not of the cities of these following nations. 16 In the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must keep alive nothing that breathes. 17 You must completely destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as Yahweh your God has commanded you. 18 Do this so that they do not teach you to act in any of their abominable ways, as they have done for their gods. If you do, you will sin against Yahweh your God.
19 When you will besiege a city for a long time, as you wage war against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. For you may eat from them, so you must not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man whom you should besiege? 20 Only the trees that you know are not trees for food, you may destroy and cut down; you will build siege works against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.
1 If someone is found killed in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has attacked him; 2 then your elders and your judges must go out, and they must measure to the cities that are around him who has been killed. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest to the dead man's body must take a heifer from the herd, one that has never been put to work, and that has not borne the yoke. 4 Then they must lead the heifer down to a valley with running water, a valley that has been neither plowed nor sown, and there in the valley they must break the heifer's neck. 5 The priests, descendants of Levi, must come forward, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to serve him and give blessing in the name of Yahweh and to decide every case of dispute and assault by their word. 6 All the elders of the city that is the nearest to the killed man must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they must answer to the case and say, 'Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not put guilt for innocent bloodshed in the midst of your people Israel.' Then the bloodshed will be forgiven them. 9 In this way you will completely remove the innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh.
10 When you go out to do battle against your enemies and Yahweh your God gives you victory and puts them under your control, and you take them away as captives, 11 if you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you delight in her and wish to take her for yourself as a wife, 12 then you will bring her home to your house; she will shave her head and cut her nails. 13 Then she will take off the clothes she was wearing when she was taken captive and she will remain in your house and mourn for her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go to her and be her husband, and she will be your wife. 14 But if you take no delight in her, then you may let her go where she wishes. But you must not sell her at all for money, and you must not treat her like a slave, because you have humiliated her.
15 If a man has two wives and one is loved and the other is hated, and they have both borne him children—both the beloved wife and the hated wife—if the firstborn son is of her that is hated, 16 then on the day that the man causes his sons to inherit what he possesses, he may not make the son of the beloved wife the firstborn before the son of the hated wife, the son who is actually the firstborn. 17 Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he possesses, for that son is the beginning of his strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, even though they correct him, will not listen to them; 19 then his father and his mother must lay hold on him and bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his city. 20 They must say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' 21 Then all the men of his city must stone him to death with stones; and you will remove the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and fear.
22 If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 then his body must not remain all night on the tree. You must surely bury him the same day; for whoever is hanged is cursed by God. You must not defile the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance.
1 You must not watch your fellow Israelite's ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them; you must surely bring them back to him. 2 If your fellow Israelite is not near to you, or if you do not know him, then you must bring the animal home to your house, and it must be with you until he looks for it, and then you must restore it to him. 3 You must do the same with his donkey; you must do the same with his garment; you must do the same with every lost thing of your fellow Israelite's, anything that he has lost and you have found; you must not hide yourself. 4 You must not see your fellow Israelite's donkey or his ox fallen down in the road and hide yourself from them; you must surely help him to lift it up again.
5 A woman must not wear what pertains to a man, and neither must a man put on women's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
6 If a bird's nest happens to be in front of you on the road, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs in it, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young. 7 You must surely let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself. Obey this command so that it may go well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
8 When you build a new house, then you must make a railing for your roof so that you do not bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.
9 You must not plant your vineyard with two kinds of seed, so that the whole harvest is not confiscated by the holy place, the seed that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. 10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 You must not wear fabric made of wool and linen together.
12 You must make yourself fringes on the four corners of the cloak with which you clothe yourself.
13 Suppose a man takes a wife, and he goes to her, and then hates her, 14 and then accuses her of shameful deeds and puts a bad reputation on her, and says, 'I took this woman, but when I came near to her, I found no proof of virginity in her.' 15 Then the father and mother of the girl must take proof of her virginity to the elders at the city gate. 16 The girl's father must say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, and he hates her. 17 See, he has accused her of shameful things and said, "I did not find in your daughter the proof of virginity." But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then they will spread the garment out before the elders of the city. 18 The elders of that city must take that man and punish him; 19 and they must force him to pay a fine of one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the girl, because the man has caused a bad reputation for a virgin of Israel. She must be his wife; he may not send her away during all his days. 20 But if this thing is true, that the proof of virginity was not found in the girl, 21 then they must bring out the girl to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city must stone her to death with stones, because she has committed a disgraceful action in Israel, to act as a prostitute in her father's house; and you will remove the evil from among you.
22 If a man is found lying with a woman who is married to another man, then they must both die, the man who was lying with the woman and the woman herself; and you will remove the evil from Israel.
23 If there is a girl who is a virgin, betrothed to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 take both of them to the city gate, and stone them to death. You must stone the girl, because she did not cry out, even though she was in the city. You must stone the man, because he violated his neighbor's wife; and you will remove the evil from among you.
25 But if the man finds the betrothed girl in the field, and if he seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her must die. 26 But to the girl you must do nothing; there is no sin worthy of death in the girl. For this case is like when a man attacks his neighbor and kills him. 27 For he found her in the field; the betrothed girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 If a man finds a girl who is a virgin but who is not betrothed, and if he seizes her and lies with her, and if they are discovered, 29 then the man who lay with her must give fifty shekels of silver to the girl's father, and she must become his wife, because he has violated her. He may not send her away during all his days.
30 A man must not take his father's wife as his own; he must not take away his father's marriage rights.
1 No man whose genitals are crushed or cut off may enter the assembly of Yahweh.
2 No illegitimate child may belong to the assembly of Yahweh; as far as to the tenth generation of his descendants, none of them may belong to the assembly of Yahweh.
3 An Ammonite or a Moabite may not belong to the assembly of Yahweh; as far as to the tenth generation of his descendants, none of them may belong to the assembly of Yahweh. 4 This is because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the road when you had come out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim, to curse you. 5 But Yahweh your God would not listen to Balaam; instead, Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you. 6 You must never seek their peace or prosperity, during all your days.
7 You must not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you must not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a foreigner in his land. 8 The descendants of the third generation that are born to them may belong to the assembly of Yahweh.
9 When you march out as an army against your enemies, then you must keep yourselves from every evil thing. 10 If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nighttime accident, then he must go out of the army's camp; he must not come back into the camp. 11 When evening comes, he must bathe himself in water; when the sun goes down, he will come back inside the camp. 12 You must have a place also outside the camp to which you will go; 13 and you will have something among your tools to dig with; when you squat down to relieve yourself, you must dig with it and then put back the earth and cover up what has come out from you. 14 For Yahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp to give you victory and to give your enemies into your hand. Therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see any unclean thing among you and turn away from you.
15 You must not give back to his master a slave who has escaped from his master. 16 Let him live with you, in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.
17 There must be no cultic prostitute among any of the daughters of Israel, neither must there be a cultic prostitute among the sons of Israel. 18 You must not bring the wages of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of Yahweh your God for any vow; for both these are abominations to Yahweh your God.
19 You must not lend on interest to your fellow Israelite—interest of money, interest of food, or the interest of anything that is lent on interest. 20 To a foreigner you may lend on interest; but to your fellow Israelite you must not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land which you are going in to possess.
21 When you make a vow to Yahweh your God, you must not be slow in fulfilling it, for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; it would be sin for you not to fulfill it. 22 But if you will refrain from making a vow, it will be no sin for you. 23 That which has gone out from your lips you must observe and do; according as you have vowed to Yahweh your God, anything that you have freely promised with your mouth.
24 When you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you desire, but do not put any in your basket. 25 When you go into your neighbor's ripe grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor's ripe grain.
1 When a man takes a wife and marries her, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found something shameful about her, then he must write her a certificate of divorce, put it into her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 When she has gone out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. 3 If the second husband hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it into her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the second husband dies, the man who took her to be his wife— 4 then her former husband, the one who had first sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has become unclean; for that would be an abomination to Yahweh. You must not cause the land to become guilty, the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5 When a man takes a new wife, he will not go to war with the army, neither may he be commanded to go on any forced duty; he will be free to be at home for one year and will bring joy to his wife whom he has taken.
6 No man may take a mill or an upper millstone as a pledge, for that would be taking a person's life as a pledge.
7 If a man is found kidnapping any of his brothers from among the people of Israel, and treats him as a slave and sells him, that thief must die; and you will remove the evil from among you.
8 Be careful regarding any plague of leprosy, so that you carefully observe and follow every instruction given to you which the priests, the Levites, teach you; as I commanded them, so you will act. 9 Call to mind what Yahweh your God did to Miriam as you were coming out of Egypt.
10 When you make your neighbor any kind of loan, you must not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11 You will stand outside, and the man to whom you have lent will bring the pledge outside to you. 12 If he is a poor man, you must not lie down with his pledge in your possession. 13 You must surely restore to him the pledge by the time the sun goes down, so that he may lie down in his cloak and bless you; it will be righteousness for you before Yahweh your God.
14 You must not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is of your fellow Israelites or of the foreigners who are in your land within your city gates. 15 Each day you must give him his wage; the sun must not go down on this unsettled matter, for he is poor and is counting on it. Do this so that he does not cry out against you to Yahweh, and so that it not be a sin that you have committed.
16 The parents must not be put to death for their children, neither must the children be put to death for their parents. Everyone must be put to death for his own sin.
17 You must not twist the justice that is due the foreigner or the fatherless, nor take the widow's cloak as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that Yahweh your God rescued you from there. Therefore I instruct you to obey this command.
19 When you reap your harvest in your field, and if you have forgotten an omer of grain in the field, you must not go back to get it; it must be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, or for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives off your olive tree, you must not go over the branches again; it will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, or for the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean it again. What is left over will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22 You must call to mind that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I instruct you to obey this command.
1 If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges judge them, then they will acquit the righteous and condemn the wicked. 2 If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, then the judge will make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the ordered number of blows, according to his wickedness. 3 The judge may give him forty blows, but he may not exceed that number; for if he should exceed that number and beat him with many more blows, then your fellow Israelite would be humiliated before your eyes.
4 You must not muzzle the ox when he threshes the grain.
5 If brothers live together and one of them dies, not having any son, then the wife of the dead man must not be married off to someone else outside the family. Instead, her husband's brother must go to her and take her to himself as a wife, and do the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 This is so that the firstborn that she bears will succeed in the name of that man's dead brother, so that his name will not perish from Israel. 7 But if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife for himself, then his brother's wife must go up to the gate to the elders and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to raise up for his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.' 8 Then the elders of his city must call him and speak to him. But suppose that he insists and says, 'I do not wish to take her.' 9 Then his brother's wife must come up to him in the presence of the elders, take off his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. She must answer him and say, 'This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.' 10 His name will be called in Israel, 'The house of him whose sandal has been taken off.'
11 If men fight with each other, and the wife of one comes to rescue her husband out of the hand of him who struck him, and if she stretches out her hand and takes him by the private parts, 12 then you must cut off her hand; your eye must have no pity.
13 You must not have in your bag different weights, a large and a small. 14 You must not have in your house different measures, a large and a small. 15 A perfect and just weight you must have; a perfect and just measure you must have, so that your days may be long in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all that act unrighteously, are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
17 Call to mind what Amalek did to you on the road as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the road and attacked those of you at the rear, all who were feeble in your rear, when you were faint and weary; he did not honor God. 19 Therefore, when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your enemies round about, in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you must not forget that you must blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
1 When you have come into the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and when you possess it and live in it, 2 then you must take some of the first of all the produce of the land that you have brought in from the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. You must put it in a basket and go to the place where Yahweh your God will choose to make a dwelling for his name. 3 You must go to the priest who will be serving in those days and say to him, 'I acknowledge today to Yahweh your God that I have come to the land that Yahweh swore to our ancestors to give us.' 4 The priest must take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of Yahweh your God. 5 You must say before Yahweh your God, 'My ancestor was a wandering Aramean. He went down into Egypt and stayed there, and his people were few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. 6 The Egyptians treated us badly and afflicted us. They put hard labor on us. 7 We cried out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and he heard our voice and saw our affliction, our labor, and our oppression. 8 Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great fearsomeness, with signs, and with wonders; 9 and he has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land that flows with milk and honey. 10 Now look, I have brought the first of the produce of the land that you, Yahweh, have given me.' You must set it down before Yahweh your God and worship before him; 11 and you must rejoice in all the good that Yahweh your God has done for you, for your house—you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.
12 When you have finished giving all the tithe of your harvest in the third year, that is, the year of tithing, then you must give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, so that they may eat within your city gates and be filled. 13 You must say before Yahweh your God, 'I have completely removed from my house the things that belong to Yahweh, and have given them to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandments that you have given me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten any of it in my mourning, nor have I put it somewhere else when I was unclean, nor have I given any of it in honor of the dead. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have obeyed everything you have commanded me to do. 15 Look down from the holy place where you live, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land that you have given us, as you had sworn to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'
16 Today Yahweh your God is commanding you to obey these statutes and decrees; you will therefore keep them and do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that Yahweh is your God, and that you will walk in his ways and keep his statutes, his commandments, and his decrees, and that you will listen to his voice. 18 Today Yahweh has declared that you are a people who are his own possession, as he had promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and he will set you high above all the other nations that he has made, and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people that is set apart to Yahweh your God, just as he said."
1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people and said, "Keep all the commandments that I command you today. 2 On the day when you will pass over the Jordan to the land that Yahweh your God is giving you, you must set up some large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 You must write on them all the words of this law when you have passed over, so that you may go into the land that Yahweh your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 When you have passed over the Jordan, set up these stones that I am commanding you about today, on Mount Ebal, and plaster them with plaster. 5 There you must build an altar to Yahweh your God, an altar of stones; but you must raise no iron tool to work the stones. 6 You must build the altar of Yahweh your God of unworked stones; you must offer burnt offerings on it to Yahweh your God, 7 and you will sacrifice fellowship offerings and will eat there; you will rejoice before Yahweh your God. 8 You will write on the stones all the words of this law. Write them very plainly."
9 Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel and said, "Be silent and listen, Israel: Today you have become the people of Yahweh your God. 10 You must therefore obey the voice of Yahweh your God and obey his commandments and statutes that I am commanding you today."
11 Moses commanded the people the same day and said, 12 "These tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people after you have passed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 These are the tribes that must stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 The Levites will answer and say to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:
15 'May the man be cursed who makes a a carved image or a cast metal figure, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of a craftsman, and who sets it up in secret.' Then all the people must answer and say, 'Amen.'
16 'May the man be cursed who dishonors his father or his mother.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
17 'May the man be cursed who removes his neighbor's landmark.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
18 'May the man be cursed who misleads the blind on the road.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
19 'May the man be cursed who uses force to take away the justice due to a foreigner, fatherless, or widow.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
20 'May the man be cursed who lies with his father's wife, because he has taken away his father's rights.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
21 'May the man be cursed who lies with any animal.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
22 'May the man be cursed who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or with the daughter of his mother.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
23 'May the man be cursed who lies with his mother-in-law.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
24 'May the man be cursed who kills his neighbor secretly.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
25 'May the man be cursed who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
26 'May the man be cursed who does not confirm the words of this law, that he will obey them.' Then all the people must say, 'Amen.'
1 If you listen carefully to the voice of Yahweh your God so as to keep all his commandments that I am commanding you today, Yahweh your God will set you above all the other nations of the earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and overtake you, if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. 3 Blessed will you be in the city and blessed will you be in the field. 4 Blessed will be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, and the increase of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Blessed will be your basket and your kneading trough. 6 Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out.
7 Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck down before you; they will come out against you one way but will flee before you seven ways. 8 Yahweh will command the blessing to come on you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to; he will bless you in the land that he is giving you. 9 Yahweh will establish you as a people that is set apart for himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways. 10 All the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Yahweh, and they will be afraid of you. 11 Yahweh will make you very prosperous in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 12 Yahweh will open to you his storehouse of the heavens to give the rain for your land at the right time, and to bless all the work of your hand; you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. 13 Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; you will be only above, and you will never be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today, so as to observe and to do them, 14 and if you do not turn away from any of the words that I am commanding you today, to the right hand or to the left, so as to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, so as to keep all his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today, then all these curses will come on you and overtake you. 16 Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the field. 17 Cursed will be your basket and your kneading trough. 18 Cursed will be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. 19 Cursed will you be when you come in, and cursed will you be when you go out.
20 Yahweh will send on you curses, confusion, and rebukes in all that you put your hand to, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly because of the evil of your deeds by which you will have abandoned me. 21 Yahweh will make the plague cling to you until he destroys you from off the land that you are going in to possess. 22 Yahweh will attack you with infectious diseases, with fever, with inflammation, with drought, with sword, with scorching winds, and with mildew. These will pursue you until you perish. 23 Your skies that are over your head will be bronze, and the earth that is under you will be iron. 24 Yahweh will make the rain of your land into powder and dust; from the heavens will it come down on you, until you are destroyed.
25 Yahweh will cause you to be struck down before your enemies; you will go out one way against them but will flee before them seven ways. You will be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 Your dead body will be food to all the birds of the heavens and to the wild animals of the earth; there will be no one to frighten them away. 27 Yahweh will attack you with the boils of Egypt and with ulcers, scurvy, and itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 Yahweh will attack you with madness, with blindness, and with mental confusion. 29 You will grope about at noonday like the blind grope in the darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; you will be always oppressed and robbed, and there will be no one to save you. 30 You will betroth a woman, but another man will seize her and rape her. You will build a house but not live in it; you will plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be killed before your eyes, but you will not eat its meat; your donkey will be forcibly taken away from before you and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to deliver you. 32 Your sons and your daughters will be given to other peoples; your eyes will look for them the entire day, but will fail with longing for them. There will be no strength in your hand. 33 The produce of your land and of all your labors—a nation that you do not know will eat it up; you will always be oppressed and crushed, 34 so that you will become insane by what you have to see happen. 35 Yahweh will attack you in the knees and legs with severe boils from which you cannot be cured, from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head.
36 Yahweh will take you and the king whom you will place over yourself to a nation that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; there you will worship other gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a source of horror, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away. 38 You will take much seed out into the field, but will gather little seed in, for the locusts will consume it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will neither drink any of the wine, nor even gather in the grapes, for worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees within all your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olive trees will drop their fruit. 41 You will have sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, for they will go into captivity. 42 All your trees and the produce of your ground—the locusts will take them over. 43 The foreigner who is among you will rise up above you higher and higher; you yourself will come down lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head, and you will be the tail. 45 All these curses will come on you and will pursue and overtake you until you are destroyed. This will happen because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, so as to keep his commandments and his regulations that he commanded you. 46 These curses will be on you as signs and wonders, and on your descendants forever.
47 Because you did not worship Yahweh your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart when you were in prosperity, 48 therefore will you serve the enemies that Yahweh will send against you; you will serve them in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in poverty. He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he destroys you. 49 Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle flies to its victim, a nation whose language you do not understand; 50 a nation with a fierce face that does not respect the aged and does not show favor to the young. 51 They will eat the young of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave for you no grain, new wine, or oil, no calves of your herds or the lambs of your flock, until they have caused you to perish. 52 They will besiege you in all your city gates, until your high and fortified walls come down everywhere in your land, walls in which you had trusted. They will besiege you within all your city gates throughout all the land that Yahweh your God had given you. 53 You will eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will oppress you. 54 The man who is timid and very delicate among you—he will be envious of his brother and his own dear wife, and of whatever children he has left. 55 So he will not give to any of them the flesh of his own children that he is going to eat, because he will have nothing left for himself in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will oppress you within all your city gates. 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to put the bottom of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness—she will be envious of her own dear husband, of her son, and of her daughter, 57 and of her own newborn that comes out from between her legs, and of the children whom she will bear. She will eat them in private for lack of anything else, during the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will oppress you within your city gates.
58 If you do not keep all the words of this law that are written in this book, so as to honor this glorious and fearful name, Yahweh your God, 59 then Yahweh will make your plagues terrible, and those of your descendants; they will be great plagues, of long duration, and severe diseases, of long duration. 60 He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt that you were afraid of; they will cling to you. 61 Also every sickness and plague that is not written in the book of this law, those also Yahweh will bring on you until you are destroyed. 62 You will be left few in number, although you were like the stars of the heavens in number, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. 63 As Yahweh once rejoiced over you in doing you good, and in multiplying you, so he will rejoice over you in making you perish and in destroying you. You will be plucked off the land that you are going into to possess. 64 Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples from the one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; there you will worship other gods that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors, gods of wood and stone. 65 Among these nations will you find no ease, and there will be no rest for the bottoms of your feet; Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a soul that mourns. 66 Your life will hang in doubt before you; night and day you will be afraid and will have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, 'I wish it were evening!' and in the evening you will say, 'I wish it were morning!' because of the fear in your hearts and the things your eyes will have to see. 68 Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again by ships, by the route about which I had said to you, 'You will not see Egypt again.' There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male slaves and female slaves, but no one will purchase you."
1 These are the words that Yahweh commanded Moses to tell the people of Israel in the land of Moab, words that were added to the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.
2 Moses called to all Israel and said to them, "You have seen everything that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land— 3 the great sufferings that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 But until today Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, or ears to hear. 5 I have led you for forty years in the wilderness; your clothes did not wear out on you, and your sandals did not wear out on your feet. 6 You did not eat any bread, and you did not drink any wine or other strong drink, so that you might know that I am Yahweh your God. 7 When you came to this place, Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out against us to fight, and we struck them down. 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. 9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, so that you may prosper in everything that you do.
10 You stand today, all of you, before Yahweh your God; your chiefs, your tribes, your elders, and your officers—all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the foreigner who is among you in your camp, from him who cuts your wood to him who draws your water. 12 You are here in order to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God and into the oath that Yahweh your God is making with you today, 13 so that he may make you today into a people for himself, and that he may be God for you, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
14 For it is not only with you that I am making this covenant and this oath— 15 with everyone standing here with us today before Yahweh our God—but also with those who are not here with us today.
16 You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. 17 You have seen their disgusting idols made of wood and stone, silver and gold, that were among them. 18 Make sure there is not among you any man, woman, clan, or tribe whose heart is turning away today from Yahweh our God, so as to go worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is not among you any root that produces poison fruit and wormwood. 19 When that person hears the words of this curse, he will bless himself in his heart and say, 'I will have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.' This would destroy the wet together with the dry. 20 Yahweh will not pardon him. Instead, the anger of Yahweh and his jealousy will smolder against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book will come on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under heaven. 21 Yahweh will set him apart for disaster out of all the tribes of Israel, in keeping with all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law.
22 The generation to come, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, will speak when they see the plagues on this land and the diseases with which Yahweh has made it sick— 23 and when they see that the whole land has become sulfur and burning salt, where nothing is sown or bears fruit, where no vegetation grows, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, that Yahweh destroyed in his anger and wrath— 24 they will say together with all the other nations, 'Why has Yahweh done this to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?' 25 Then people will say, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, that he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 26 and because they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods that they had not known and that he had not given to them. 27 Therefore the anger of Yahweh has been kindled against this land, so as to bring on it all the curses that are written in this book. 28 Yahweh has uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great fury, and has thrown them into another land, as today.' 29 The secret matters belong alone to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong forever to us and to our descendants, so that we may do all the words of this law.
1 When all these things have come on you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, and when you call them to mind among all the other nations where Yahweh your God has banished you, 2 and when you return to Yahweh your God and obey his voice, following all that I am commanding you today—you and your children—with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then Yahweh your God will reverse your captivity and have compassion on you; he will return and gather you from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you. 4 If any of your exiled people are in the farthest places under the heavens, from there Yahweh your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you. 5 Yahweh your God will bring you into the land that your forefathers possessed, and you will possess it again; he will do you good and will multiply you more than he did your forefathers. 6 Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so you will love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 7 Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, those who persecuted you. 8 You will return and obey the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I am commanding you today. 9 Yahweh your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for prosperity. For Yahweh will again delight in making you prosperous, as he rejoiced over your fathers. 10 He will do this if you will obey the voice of Yahweh your God, so as to keep his commandments and regulations that are written in this book of the law, if you turn to Yahweh your God with all your heart and all your soul.
11 For this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, neither is it too far for you to reach. 12 It is not in heaven, so that you should have to say, 'Who will go up for us to heaven and bring it down to us and make us able to hear it, so that we may do it?' 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, so that you should have to say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us and make us to hear it, so that we may do it?' 14 But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and your heart, so that you may do it.
15 See, today I have placed before you life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the decrees of Yahweh your God, in which I am commanding you today to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his regulations, and his statutes, you will live and multiply, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you do not listen and are drawn away and bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 then I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you will not prolong your days in the land that you are passing over the Jordan to go into and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life so that you may live, you and your descendants. 20 Do this so as to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him. For he is your life and the length of your days; do this so that you may live in the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."
1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 He said to them, "I am now one hundred twenty years old; I can no more go out and come in; Yahweh has said to me, 'You will not go over this Jordan.' 3 Yahweh your God, he will go over before you; he will destroy these nations from before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua, he will go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken. 4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, which he destroyed. 5 Yahweh will deliver them over to you, and you will do to them according to all that I commanded you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, fear not, and do not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God, he it is who goes with you; he will not fail you nor abandon you." 7 Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you will go with this people into the land that Yahweh has sworn to their ancestors to give them; you will cause them to inherit it. 8 Yahweh, he it is who goes before you; he will be with you; he will not fail you nor abandon you; do not be afraid, do not be discouraged."
9 Moses wrote this law and gave it out to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; he also gave copies of it to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them and said, "At the end of every seven years, at the time fixed for the cancellation of debts, during the Festival of Shelters, 11 when all Israel has come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place that he will choose for his sanctuary, you will read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, the men, the women, and the little ones, and your foreigner who is within your city gates, so that they may hear and learn, and so that they may honor Yahweh your God and keep all the words of this law. 13 Do this so that their children, who have not known, may hear and learn to honor Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess."
14 Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, the day is coming when you must die; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may give him a command." Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 Yahweh appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the tent. 16 Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, you will lie down with your fathers; this people will rise up and act like a prostitute going after the strange gods that are among them in the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then, on that day, my anger will be kindled against them and I will abandon them. I will hide my face from them and they will be devoured. Many disasters and troubles will find them so that they will say on that day, 'Have these disasters not come upon us because our God is not in our midst?' 18 I will surely hide my face from them on that day because of all the evil that they will have done, because they will have turned to other gods. 19 Now therefore write this song for yourselves and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I will have brought them into the land that I swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, and when they have eaten and become satisfied and prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and they will serve them and they will despise me and they will break my covenant. 21 When many evils and troubles come upon this people, this song will testify before them as a witness (for it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants). For I know the plans that they are forming today, even before I have brought them into the land that I swore to them." 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel. 23 Yahweh gave Joshua son of Nun a command and said, "Be strong and of good courage; for you will bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to them, and I will be with you."
24 It happened that when Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, 25 that he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and he said, 26 "Take this book of the law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, so that it may be there as a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck; look, while I am still alive with you even today, you have been rebellious against Yahweh; how much more after my death? 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside out of the path that I have commanded you; disaster will come on you in the following days. This will happen because you will do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, so as to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands."
30 Moses recited in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song until they were finished.
1 Give ear, you heavens, and let me speak.
Let the earth listen to the words of my mouth.
2 Let my teaching drop down like the rain,
let my speech distill like the dew,
like the gentle rain on the tender grass,
and like the showers on the plants.
3 For I will proclaim the name of Yahweh,
and ascribe greatness to our God.
4 The Rock, his work is perfect;
for all his paths are just.
He is the faithful God, without iniquity.
He is just and upright.
5 They have acted corruptly against him.
They are not his children. It is their disgrace.
They are a perverted and crooked generation.
6 Do you reward Yahweh in this way,
you foolish and unwise people?
Is he not your Father, the one who has created you?
He made you and established you.
7 Call to mind the days of ancient times,
think about the years of generations past.
Ask your father and he will show you,
your elders and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance—
when he divided all of mankind,
he set the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the children of Israel.
9 For Yahweh's portion is his people;
Jacob is his apportioned inheritance.
10 He found him in a desert land,
and in the barren and howling wilderness;
he shielded him and cared for him,
he guarded him as the apple of his eye.
11 As an eagle that guards her nest
and flutters over her young,
Yahweh spread out his wings and took them,
and carried them on his pinions.
12 Yahweh alone led him;
no foreign god was with him.
13 He made him ride on high places of the land,
and he fed him the fruits of the field;
he nourished him with honey from the rock,
and oil from the flinty crag.
14 He ate butter from the herd and drank milk from the flock,
with fat of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
with the finest of the wheat—
and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of grapes.
15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
you grew fat, you were too fat, and you had eaten your fill—
he abandoned the God who made him,
and he rejected the Rock of his salvation.
16 They made Yahweh jealous by their strange gods;
with their abominations they angered him.
17 They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—
gods they had not known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear.
18 You have deserted the Rock, who became your father,
and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 Yahweh saw this and he rejected them,
because his sons and his daughters provoked him so.
20 "I will hide my face from them," he said,
"and I will see what their end will be;
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
21 They have made me jealous by what is not god
and angered me by their worthless things.
I will make them envious by those who are not a people;
by a foolish nation I will make them angry.
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger
and is burning to the lowest Sheol;
it is devouring the earth and its produce;
it is setting on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will heap disasters on them;
I will shoot all my arrows at them;
24 They will be wasted by hunger and devoured by burning heat
and bitter destruction;
I will send on them the teeth of wild animals,
with the poison of things that crawl in the dust.
25 Outside the sword will bereave,
and in the bedrooms terror will do so.
It will destroy both young man and virgin,
the nursing baby, and the man of gray hairs.
26 I said that I would scatter them far away,
that I would make the memory of them to cease from among mankind.
27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,
and that their enemies would judge mistakenly,
and that they would say, 'Our hand is exalted,'
I would have done all this.
28 For Israel is a nation devoid of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them.
29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
that they would consider their coming fate!
30 How could one chase a thousand,
and two put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and Yahweh had given them up?
31 For our enemies' rock is not like our Rock,
just as even our enemies have concluded.
32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom,
and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents
and the cruel venom of asps.
34 Is not this plan secretly kept by me,
sealed up among my treasures?
35 Vengeance is mine to give, and recompense,
at the time when their foot slips;
for the day of disaster for them is near,
and the things that are to come on them will hurry to happen."
36 For Yahweh will give justice to his people,
and he will pity his servants.
He will see that their power is gone,
and no one remains, either slaves or free people.
37 Then he will say, "Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they took refuge,
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up and help you;
let them be your protection.
39 See now that I, even I, am God,
and that there is no god besides me;
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal,
and there is no one who can save you from my might.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven
and say, 'As I live forever, I will act.
41 When I sharpen my glittering sword,
and when my hand begins to bring justice,
I will render vengeance on my enemies,
and I will pay back those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh
with the blood of the killed and the captives,
and from the heads of the leaders of the enemy.'"
43 Rejoice, you nations, with God's people,
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will render vengeance on his enemies,
and he will make atonement for his land, for his people.
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Joshua son of Nun. 45 Then Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel. 46 He said to them, "Fix your mind on all the words that I have witnessed to you today, so that you may command your children to keep them, all the words of this law. 47 For this is no trivial matter for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you will prolong your days in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess."
48 Yahweh spoke to Moses on that same day and said, 49 "Go up into this range of the mountains of Abarim, up Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho. You will look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel as their possession. 50 You will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your fellow Israelite died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 51 This will happen because you were unfaithful to me among the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you did not treat me with honor and respect among the people of Israel. 52 For you will see the land before you, but you will not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel."
1 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said:
Yahweh came from Sinai
and rose from Seir upon them.
He shined out from Mount Paran,
and he came with ten thousands of holy ones.
In his right hand were flashes of lightning.
3 Indeed, he loves the peoples;
all his holy people are in your hand,
and they bowed down at your feet;
they received your words.
4 Moses commanded us a law,
an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
5 Then there was a king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people had gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.
6 Let Reuben live and not die,
but may his men be few.
7 This is the blessing for Judah. Moses said:
Listen, Yahweh, to the voice of Judah,
and bring him to his people again.
Fight for him;
be a help against his enemies.
8 About Levi, Moses said:
Your Thummim and your Urim belong to your faithful one,
the one whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you struggled at the waters of Meribah,
9 who said about his father and mother, "I have not seen them."
Neither did he acknowledge his brothers,
nor did he take account of his own children.
For he guarded your word
and kept your covenant.
10 He teaches Jacob your decrees
and Israel your law.
He will put incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless, Yahweh, his possessions,
and accept the work of his hands.
Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,
and those of the people who hate him, so that they do not rise up again.
12 About Benjamin, Moses said:
The one loved by Yahweh lives in security beside him;
Yahweh shields him all the day long,
and he lives between Yahweh's arms.
13 About Joseph, Moses said:
May his land be blessed by Yahweh
with the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
and with the deep that lies beneath.
14 May his land be blessed with the precious things of the harvest of the sun,
with the precious things of the produce of the months,
15 with the finest things of the ancient mountains,
and with the precious things of the everlasting hills.
16 May his land be blessed with the precious things of the earth and its abundance,
and with the good will of him who was in the bush.
Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph,
and on the top of the head of him who was prince over his brothers.
17 The firstborn of an ox, majestic is he,
and his horns are the horns of a wild ox.
With them he will push the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth.
These are the ten thousands of Ephraim;
these are the thousands of Manasseh.
18 About Zebulun, Moses said:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and you, Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will call the peoples to the mountains.
There will they offer sacrifices of righteousness.
For they will suck the abundance of the seas,
and from the sand on the seashore.
20 About Gad, Moses said:
Blessed be he who enlarges Gad.
He will live there like a lioness,
and he will tear off an arm or a head.
21 He provided the best part for himself,
for there was the leader's portion of land reserved.
He came with the heads of the people.
He carried out the justice of Yahweh
and his decrees with Israel.
22 About Dan, Moses said:
Dan is a lion cub
that leaps out from Bashan.
23 About Naphtali, Moses said:
Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
and full of the blessing of Yahweh,
take possession of the land to the west and south.
24 About Asher, Moses said:
Blessed be Asher more than the other sons;
let him be acceptable to his brothers,
and let him dip his foot in olive oil.
25 May your city bars be iron and bronze;
as long as will be your days, so long will your security be.
26 There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
and in his majesty on the clouds.
27 The eternal God is a refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He thrust out the enemy from before you,
and he said, "Destroy!"
28 Israel dwelt in safety.
Jacob's spring was secure
in a land of grain and new wine;
indeed, let his heavens drop dew on him.
29 Your blessings are many, Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your majesty?
Your enemies will come trembling to you;
you will trample down their high places.
1 Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. There Yahweh showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, 2 and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the western sea, 3 and the Negev, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Yahweh said to him, "This is the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have allowed you to look at it with your eyes, but you will not go over there." 5 So Moses the servant of Yahweh, died there in the land of Moab, as the word of Yahweh promised. 6 Yahweh buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no one knows where his grave is to this day. 7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 The people of Israel mourned for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days, and then the days of mourning for Moses were finished.
9 Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. The people of Israel listened to him and did what Yahweh had commanded Moses. 10 There has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face. 11 There has never been any prophet like him in all the signs and wonders that Yahweh sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land. 12 There has never been any prophet like him in all the mighty, fearsome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.