Good News Translation (GNT)

The Duties of the Levite Clan of Kohath

1 The Lord told Moses

2 to take a census of the Levite clan of Kohath by subclans and families,

3 and to register all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence.

4 Their service involves the most holy things.

5 The Lord gave Moses the following instructions. When it is time to break camp, Aaron and his sons shall enter the Tent, take down the curtain in front of the Covenant Box, and cover the Box with it.

6 They shall put a fine leather cover over it, spread a cloth of solid blue on top, and then insert the carrying poles.

7 They shall spread a blue cloth over the table for the bread offered to the Lord and put on it the dishes, the incense bowls, the offering bowls, and the jars for the wine offering. There shall always be bread on the table.

8 They shall spread a red cloth over all of this, put a fine leather cover over it, and then insert the carrying poles.

9 They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand, with its lamps, tongs, trays, and all the olive oil containers.

10 They shall wrap it and all its equipment in a fine leather cover and place it on a carrying frame.

11 Next they shall spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, put a fine leather cover over it, and then insert the carrying poles.

12 They shall take all the utensils used in the Holy Place, wrap them in a blue cloth, put a fine leather cover over them, and place them on a carrying frame.

13 They shall remove the greasy ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it.

14 They shall put on it all the equipment used in the service at the altar: fire pans, hooks, shovels, and basins. Then they shall put a fine leather cover over it and insert the carrying poles.

15 When it is time to break camp, the clan of Kohath shall come to carry the sacred objects only after Aaron and his sons have finished covering them and all their equipment. The Kohath clan must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die.

These are the responsibilities of the Kohath clan whenever the Tent is moved.

16 Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall be responsible for the whole Tent and for the oil for the lamps, the incense, the grain offerings, the anointing oil, and everything else in the Tent that has been consecrated to the Lord.

17 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

18 “Do not let the clan of Kohath

19 be killed by coming near these most sacred objects. To prevent this from happening, Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each man his task and tell him what to carry.

20 But if the Kohathites enter the Tent and see the priests preparing the sacred objects for moving,they will die.”

The Duties of the Levite Clan of Gershon

21 The Lord told Moses

22 to take a census of the Levite clan of Gershon by subclans and families,

23 and to register all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence.

24 They shall be responsible for carrying the following objects:

25 the Tent, its inner cover, its outer cover, the fine leather cover on top of it, the curtain for the entrance,

26 the curtains and ropes for the court that is around the Tent and the altar, the curtains for the entrance of the court, and all the fittings used in setting up these objects. They shall perform all the tasks required for these things.

27 Moses and Aaron shall see to it that the Gershonites perform all the duties and carry everything that Aaron and his sons assign to them.

28 These are the responsibilities of the Gershon clan in the Tent; they shall carry them out under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Duties of the Levite Clan of Merari

29 The Lord told Moses to take a census of the Levite clan of Merari by subclans and families,

30 and to register all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence.

31 They shall be responsible for carrying the frames, bars, posts, and bases of the Tent,

32 and the posts, bases, pegs, and ropes of the court around the Tent, with all the fittings used in setting them up. Each man will be responsible for carrying specific items.

33 These are the responsibilities of the Merari clan in their service in the Tent; they shall carry them out under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

The Census of the Levites

34-48 Following the Lord’s command, Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community took a census of the three Levite clans, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari. They did this by subclans and families and registered all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the Lord’s presence, as follows:

Kohath 2,750
Gershon 2,630
Merari 3,200
Total: 8,580

49 Each man was registered as the Lord had commanded Moses; and at the command of the Lord given through Moses, each man was assigned responsibility for his task of serving or carrying.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/4-82208c4f08f4d79938adb4f8e26c56e0.mp3?version_id=68—

Unclean People

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 “Command the people of Israel to expel from the camp everyone with a dreaded skin disease or a bodily discharge and everyone who is unclean by contact with a corpse.

3 Send all these ritually unclean people out, so that they will not defile the camp, where I live among my people.”

4 The Israelites obeyed and expelled them all from the camp.

Repayment for Wrongs Done

5 The Lord gave Moses

6 the following instructions for the people of Israel. When any of you are unfaithful to the Lord and commit a wrong against someone,

7 you must confess your sin and make full repayment, plus an additional 20 percent, to the person you have wronged.

8 But if that person has died and has no near relative to whom payment can be made, it shall be given to the Lord for the priest. This payment is in addition to the ram used to perform the ritual of purification for the guilty person.

9 Also every special contribution which the Israelites offer to the Lord belongs to the priest to whom they present it.

10 Each priest shall keep the offerings presented to him.

Cases of Wives with Suspicious Husbands

11 The Lord commanded Moses

12-14 to give the Israelites the following instructions. It may happen that a man becomes suspicious that his wife is unfaithful to him and has defiled herself by having intercourse with another man. But the husband may not be certain, for his wife may have kept it secret—there was no witness, and she was not caught in the act. Or it may happen that a husband becomes suspicious of his wife, even though she has not been unfaithful.

15 In either case the man shall take his wife to the priest. He shall also take the required offering of two pounds of barley flour, but he shall not pour any olive oil on it or put any incense on it, because it is an offering from a suspicious husband, made to bring the truth to light.

16 The priest shall bring the woman forward and have her stand in front of the altar.

17 He shall pour some holy water into a clay bowl and take some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tent of the Lord’s presence and put it in the water to make it bitter.

18 Then he shall loosen the woman’s hair and put the offering of flour in her hands. In his hands the priest shall hold the bowl containing the bitter water that brings a curse.

19 Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: “If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings.

20 But if you have committed adultery,

21 may the Lord make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up.

22 May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink.”

The woman shall respond, “I agree; may the Lord do so.”

23 Then the priest shall write this curse down and wash the writing off into the bowl of bitter water.

24 Before he makes the woman drink the water, which may then cause her bitter pain,

25 the priest shall take the offering of flour out of the woman’s hands, hold it out in dedication to the Lord, and present it on the altar.

26 Then he shall take a handful of it as a token offering and burn it on the altar. Finally, he shall make the woman drink the water.

27 If she has committed adultery, the water will cause bitter pain; her stomach will swell up and her genital organs will shrink. Her name will become a curse among her people.

28 But if she is innocent, she will not be harmed and will be able to bear children.

29-30 This is the law in cases where a man is jealous and becomes suspicious that his wife has committed adultery. The woman shall be made to stand in front of the altar, and the priest shall perform this ritual.

31 The husband shall be free of guilt, but the woman, if guilty, must suffer the consequences.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/5-986c4ab344311d4f944c5e16d860490d.mp3?version_id=68—

Rules for Nazirites

1 The Lord commanded Moses

2 to give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Any of you, male or female, who make a special vow to become a nazirite and dedicate yourself to the Lord

3 shall abstain from wine and beer. You shall not drink any kind of drink made from grapes or eat any grapes or raisins.

4 As long as you are a nazirite, you shall not eat anything that comes from a grapevine, not even the seeds or skins of grapes.

5 As long as you are under the nazirite vow, you must not cut your hair or shave. You are bound by the vow for the full time that you are dedicated to the Lord, and you shall let your hair grow.

6-7 Your hair is the sign of your dedication to God, and so you must not defile yourself by going near a corpse, not even that of your father, mother, brother, or sister.

8 As long as you are a nazirite, you are consecrated to the Lord.

9 If your consecrated hair is defiled because you are right beside someone who suddenly dies, you must wait seven days and then shave your head; and so you become ritually clean.

10 On the eighth day you shall bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord’s presence.

11 The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to perform the ritual of purification for you because of your contact with a corpse. On the same day you shall reconsecrate your hair

12 and rededicate to the Lord your time as a nazirite. The previous period of time doesn’t count, because your consecrated hair was defiled. As a repayment offering you shall bring a one-year-old lamb.

13 When you complete your nazirite vow, you shall perform this ritual. You shall go to the entrance of the Tent

14 and present to the Lord three animals without any defects: a one-year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, a one-year-old ewe lamb for a sin offering, and a ram for a fellowship offering.

15 You shall also offer a basket of bread made without yeast: thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil and thin cakes brushed with olive oil, and in addition the required offerings of grain and wine.

16 The priest shall present all these to the Lord and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering.

17 He shall sacrifice the ram to the Lord as a fellowship offering, and offer it with the basket of bread; he shall also present the offerings of grain and wine.

18 At the entrance of the Tent you nazirites shall shave off your hair and put it on the fire on which the fellowship offering is being burned.

19 Then, when the shoulder of the ram is boiled, the priest shall take it and put it, together with one thick loaf of bread and one thin cake from the basket, into the hands of the nazirite.

20 Next, the priest shall present them as a special gift to the Lord; they are a sacred offering for the priest, in addition to the breast and the leg of the ram which by law belong to the priest. After that, the nazirite may drink wine.

21 These are the regulations for you nazirites; but if you promise an offering beyond what your vow requires you to give, you must fulfill exactly the promise you made.

The Priestly Blessing

22 The Lord commanded Moses

23 to tell Aaron and his sons to use the following words in blessing the people of Israel:

24 May the Lord bless you and take care of you;

25 May the Lord be kind and gracious to you;

26 May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

27 And the Lord said, “If they pronounce my name as a blessing upon the people of Israel, I will bless them.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/6-75b80365ca809ab5eceae096ffa645c9.mp3?version_id=68—

The Offerings of the Leaders

1 On the day Moses finished setting up the Tent of the Lord’s presence, he anointed and dedicated the Tent and all its equipment, and the altar and all its equipment.

2 Then the clan chiefs who were leaders in the tribes of Israel, the same men who were in charge of the census,

3 brought their offerings to the Lord: six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two leaders and an ox for each leader. After they had presented them,

4 the Lord said to Moses,

5 “Accept these gifts for use in the work to be done for the Tent; give them to the Levites according to the work they have to do.”

6 So Moses gave the wagons and the oxen to the Levites.

7 He gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonites,

8 and four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarites. All their work was to be done under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron.

9 But Moses gave no wagons or oxen to the Kohathites, because the sacred objects they took care of had to be carried on their shoulders.

10 The leaders also brought offerings to celebrate the dedication of the altar. When they were ready to present their gifts at the altar,

11 the Lord said to Moses, “Tell them that each day for a period of twelve days one of the leaders is to present his gifts for the dedication of the altar.”

12-83 They presented their offerings in the following order:

1st Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab
2nd Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar
3rd Zebulun Eliab son of Helon
4th Reuben Elizur son of Shedeur
5th Simeon Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai
6th Gad Eliasaph son of Deuel
7th Ephraim Elishama son of Ammihud
8th Manasseh Gamaliel son of Pedahzur
9th Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni
10th Dan Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai
11th Asher Pagiel son of Ochran
12th Naphtali Ahira son of Enan

The offerings each one brought were identical: one silver bowl weighing 50 ounces and one silver basin weighing 30 ounces, by the official standard, both of them full of flour mixed with oil for the grain offering; one gold dish weighing 4 ounces, full of incense; one young bull, one ram, and a one-year-old lamb, for the burnt offering; one goat for the sin offering; and two bulls, five rams, five goats, and five one-year-old lambs, for the fellowship offering.

84-88 The totals of the offerings brought by the twelve leaders for the dedication of the altar were as follows:

–twelve silver bowls and twelve silver basins weighing a total of 60 pounds

–twelve gold dishes weighing a total of 48 ounces, filled with incense

–twelve bulls, twelve rams, and twelve one-year-old lambs, plus the grain offerings that go with them, for the burnt offerings

–twelve goats for the sin offerings

–twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty goats, sixty one-year-old lambs, for the fellowship offerings

89 When Moses went into the Tent to talk with the Lord, he heard the Lord speaking to him from above the lid on the Covenant Box, between the two winged creatures.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/7-5308e6141a4f599fa614fe29847a1ed9.mp3?version_id=68—

Placing the Lamps

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 “Tell Aaron that when he puts the seven lamps on the lampstand, he should place them so that the light shines toward the front.”

3 Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps facing the front of the lampstand.

4 From top to bottom the lampstand was made of hammered gold, according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses.

The Purification and Dedication of the Levites

5 The Lord said to Moses,

6 “Separate the Levites from the rest of the people of Israel and purify them

7 in the following way: sprinkle them with the water of purification and have them shave their whole bodies and have them wash their clothes. Then they will be ritually clean.

8 Then they are to take a young bull and the required grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil; and you are to take another bull for the sin offering.

9 Then assemble the whole community of Israel and have the Levites stand in front of the Tent of my presence.

10 The people of Israel are to place their hands on the heads of the Levites,

11 and then Aaron shall dedicate the Levites to me as a special gift from the Israelites, so that they may do my work.

12 The Levites shall then put their hands on the heads of the two bulls; one is to be offered as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, in order to perform the ritual of purification for the Levites.

13 “Dedicate the Levites as a special gift to me, and put Aaron and his sons in charge of them.

14 Separate the Levites in this way from the rest of the Israelites, so that they will belong to me.

15 After you have purified and dedicated the Levites, they will be qualified to work in the Tent.

16 I have claimed them in the place of all the first-born sons of the Israelites, and they belong to me alone.

17 When I killed all the first-born in Egypt, I consecrated as my own the oldest son of each Israelite family and the first-born of every animal.

18 I am now taking the Levites instead of all the first-born of the Israelites,

19 and I assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons, as a gift from the Israelites, to work in the Tent for the people of Israel and to protect the Israelites from the disaster that would strike them if they came too near the Holy Place.”

20 So Moses, Aaron, and all the people of Israel dedicated the Levites, as the Lord commanded Moses.

21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron dedicated them as a special gift to the Lord. He also performed the ritual of purification for them.

22 The people did everything the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites. And so the Levites were qualified to work in the Tent under Aaron and his sons.

23 The Lord said to Moses,

24 “From the age of twenty-five each Levite shall perform his duties in the Tent of my presence,

25 and at the age of fifty he shall retire.

26 After that, he may help his fellow Levites in performing their duties in the Tent, but he must not perform any service by himself. This is how you are to regulate the duties of the Levites.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/8-123a9db9e10183e2c225b5f05d61130b.mp3?version_id=68—

The Second Passover

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert in the first month of the second year after the people of Israel had left Egypt. He said,

2-3 “On the fourteenth day of this month, beginning at sunset, the people of Israel are to observe the Passover according to all the rules and regulations for it.”

4 So Moses told the people to observe the Passover,

5 and on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month they did so in the Sinai Desert. The people did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

6 But there were some people who were ritually unclean because they had touched a corpse, and they were not able to keep the Passover on that day. They went to Moses and Aaron

7 and said, “We are unclean because we have touched a corpse, but why should we be excluded from presenting the Lord’s offering with the rest of the Israelites?”

8 Moses answered, “Wait until I receive instructions from the Lord.”

9 The Lord told Moses

10 to say to the people of Israel, “When any of you or your descendants are unclean from touching a corpse or are far away on a journey, but still want to keep the Passover,

11 you are permitted to observe it one month later instead, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the second month. Celebrate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

12 Do not leave any of the food until the following morning and do not break any of the animal’s bones. Observe the Passover according to all the regulations.

13 But if any of you are ritually clean and not away on a journey and do not observe the Passover, you shall no longer be considered my people, because you did not present the offering to me at the appointed time. You must suffer the consequences of your sin.

14 “If foreigners living among you want to keep the Passover, they must observe it according to all the rules and regulations. The same law applies to everyone, whether native or foreigner.”

The Fiery Cloud

15-16 On the day the Tent of the Lord’s presence was set up, a cloud came and covered it. At night the cloud looked like fire.

17 Whenever the cloud lifted, the people of Israel broke camp, and they set up camp again in the place where the cloud came down.

18 The people broke camp at the command of the Lord, and at his command they set up camp. As long as the cloud stayed over the Tent, they stayed in the same camp.

19 When the cloud stayed over the Tent for a long time, they obeyed the Lord and did not move on.

20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the Tent for only a few days; in any case, they remained in camp or moved, according to the command of the Lord.

21 Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning, and they moved on as soon as the cloud lifted. Whenever the cloud lifted, they moved on.

22 Whether it was two days, a month, a year, or longer, as long as the cloud remained over the Tent, they did not move on; but when it lifted, they moved.

23 They set up camp and broke camp in obedience to the commands which the Lord gave through Moses.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/9-5e9f65c1dbbe4be785c7ea0be97791f1.mp3?version_id=68—

The Silver Trumpets

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to use for calling the people together and for breaking camp.

3 When long blasts are sounded on both trumpets, the whole community is to gather around you at the entrance to the Tent of my presence.

4 But when only one trumpet is sounded, then only the leaders of the clans are to gather around you.

5 When short blasts are sounded, the tribes camped on the east will move out.

6 When short blasts are sounded a second time, the tribes on the south will move out. So short blasts are to be sounded to break camp,

7 but in order to call the community together, long blasts are to be sounded.

8 The trumpets are to be blown by Aaron’s sons, the priests.

“The following rule is to be observed for all time to come.

9 When you are at war in your land, defending yourselves against an enemy who has attacked you, sound the signal for battle on these trumpets. I, the Lord your God, will help you and save you from your enemies.

10 Also on joyful occasions—at your New Moon Festivals and your other religious festivals—you are to blow the trumpets when you present your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings. Then I will help you. I am the Lord your God.”

The Israelites Break Camp

11 On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year after the people left Egypt, the cloud over the Tent of the Lord’s presence lifted,

12 and the Israelites started on their journey out of the Sinai Desert. The cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.

13 They began to march at the command of the Lord through Moses,

14 and each time they moved, they were in the same order. Those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Judah started out first, company by company, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command.

15 Nethanel son of Zuar was in command of the tribe of Issachar,

16 and Eliab son of Helon was in command of the tribe of Zebulun.

17 Then the Tent would be taken down, and the clans of Gershon and Merari, who carried it, would start out.

18 Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Reuben would start out, company by company, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command.

19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was in command of the tribe of Simeon,

20 and Eliasaph son of Deuel was in command of the tribe of Gad.

21 Then the Levite clan of Kohath would start out, carrying the sacred objects. By the time they arrived at the next camp, the Tent had been set up again.

22 Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Ephraim would start out, company by company, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command.

23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was in command of the tribe of Manasseh,

24 and Abidan son of Gideoni was in command of the tribe of Benjamin.

25 Finally, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Dan, serving as the rear guard of all the divisions, would start out, company by company, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command.

26 Pagiel son of Ochran was in command of the tribe of Asher,

27 and Ahira son of Enan was in command of the tribe of Naphtali.

28 This, then, was the order of march, company by company, whenever the Israelites broke camp and set out.

29 Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Jethro the Midianite, “We are about to start out for the place which the Lord said he would give us. He has promised to make Israel prosperous, so come with us, and we will share our prosperity with you.”

30 Hobab answered, “No, I am going back to my native land.”

31 “Please don’t leave us,” Moses said. “You know where we can camp in the wilderness, and you can be our guide.

32 If you come with us, we will share with you all the blessings that the Lord gives us.”

The People Set Out

33 When the people left Sinai, the holy mountain, they traveled three days. The Lord’s Covenant Box always went ahead of them to find a place for them to camp.

34 As they moved on from each camp, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day.

35 Whenever the Covenant Box started out, Moses would say, “Arise, Lord; scatter your enemies and put to flight those who hate you!”

36 And whenever it stopped, he would say, “Return, Lord, to the thousands of families of Israel.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/10-7dad612e2529e34f6c4d25d42a9d029e.mp3?version_id=68—

The Place Named Taberah

1 The people began to complain to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry and sent fire on the people. It burned among them and destroyed one end of the camp.

2 The people cried out to Moses for help; he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down.

3 So the place was named Taberah,because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.

Moses Chooses Seventy Leaders

4 There were foreigners traveling with the Israelites. They had a strong craving for meat, and even the Israelites themselves began to complain: “If only we could have some meat!

5 In Egypt we used to eat all the fish we wanted, and it cost us nothing. Remember the cucumbers, the watermelons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic we had?

6 But now our strength is gone. There is nothing at all to eat—nothing but this manna day after day!”

(

7 Manna was like small seeds, whitish yellow in color.

8-9 It fell on the camp at night along with the dew. The next morning the people would go around and gather it, grind it or pound it into flour, and then boil it and make it into flat cakes. It tasted like bread baked with olive oil.)

10 Moses heard all the people complaining as they stood around in groups at the entrances of their tents. He was distressed because the Lord had become angry with them,

11 and he said to the Lord, “Why have you treated me so badly? Why are you displeased with me? Why have you given me the responsibility for all these people?

12 I didn’t create them or bring them to birth! Why should you ask me to act like a nurse and carry them in my arms like babies all the way to the land you promised to their ancestors?

13 Where could I get enough meat for all these people? They keep whining and asking for meat.

14 I can’t be responsible for all these people by myself; it’s too much for me!

15 If you are going to treat me like this, have pity on me and kill me, so that I won’t have to endure your cruelty any longer.”

16 The Lord said to Moses, “Assemble seventy respected men who are recognized as leaders of the people, bring them to me at the Tent of my presence, and tell them to stand there beside you.

17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the spirit I have given you and give it to them. Then they can help you bear the responsibility for these people, and you will not have to bear it alone.

18 Now tell the people, ‘Purify yourselves for tomorrow; you will have meat to eat. The Lord has heard you whining and saying that you wished you had some meat and that you were better off in Egypt. Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it.

19 You will have to eat it not just for one or two days, or five, or ten, or even twenty days,

20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your ears, until you are sick of it. This will happen because you have rejected the Lord who is here among you and have complained to him that you should never have left Egypt.’”

21 Moses said to the Lord, “Here I am leading 600,000 people, and you say that you will give them enough meat for a month?

22 Could enough cattle and sheep be killed to satisfy them? Are all the fish in the sea enough for them?”

23 “Is there a limit to my power?” the Lord answered. “You will soon see whether what I have said will happen or not!”

24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He assembled seventy of the leaders and placed them around the Tent.

25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the spirit he had given to Moses and gave it to the seventy leaders. When the spirit came on them, they began to shout like prophets, but not for long.

26 Two of the seventy leaders, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp and had not gone out to the Tent. There in the camp the spirit came on them, and they too began to shout like prophets.

27 A young man ran out to tell Moses what Eldad and Medad were doing.

28 Then Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ helper since he was a young man, spoke up and said to Moses, “Stop them, sir!”

29 Moses answered, “Are you concerned about my interests? I wish that the Lord would give his spirit to all his people and make all of them shout like prophets!”

30 Then Moses and the seventy leaders of Israel went back to camp.

The Lord Sends Quails

31 Suddenly the Lord sent a wind that brought quails from the sea, flying three feet above the ground. They settled on the camp and all around it for miles and miles in every direction.

32 So all that day, all night, and all the next day, the people worked catching quails; no one gathered less than fifty bushels. They spread them out to dry all around the camp.

33 While there was still plenty of meat for them to eat, the Lord became angry with the people and caused an epidemic to break out among them.

34 That place was named Kibroth Hattaavah (which means “Graves of Craving”), because there they buried the people who had craved meat.

35 From there the people moved to Hazeroth, where they made camp.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/11-b22ddca975630b62761958ac356fdfa1.mp3?version_id=68—

Miriam Is Punished

1 Moses had married a Cushitewoman, and Miriam and Aaron criticized him for it.

2 They said, “Has the Lord spoken only throughMoses? Hasn’t he also spoken throughus?” The Lord heard what they said. (

3 Moses was a humble man, more humble than anyone else on earth.)

4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “I want the three of you to come out to the Tent of my presence.” They went,

5 and the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, stood at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron! Miriam!” The two of them stepped forward,

6 and the Lord said, “Now hear what I have to say! When there are prophets among you,I reveal myself to them in visions and speak to them in dreams.

7 It is different when I speak with my servant Moses; I have put him in charge of all my people Israel.

8 So I speak to him face-to-face, clearly and not in riddles; he has even seen my form! How dare you speak against my servant Moses?”

9 The Lord was angry with them; and so as he departed

10 and the cloud left the Tent, Miriam’s skin was suddenly covered with a dreaded disease and turned as white as snow. When Aaron looked at her and saw that she was covered with the disease,

11 he said to Moses, “Please, sir, do not make us suffer this punishment for our foolish sin.

12 Don’t let her become like something born dead with half its flesh eaten away.”

13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God, heal her!”

14 The Lord answered, “If her father had spit in her face, she would have to bear her disgrace for seven days. So let her be shut out of the camp for a week, and after that she can be brought back in.”

15 Miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until she was brought back in.

16 Then they left Hazeroth and set up camp in the wilderness of Paran.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/12-28d875b0b134ba58ab006e94980d7654.mp3?version_id=68—

The Spies

1 The Lord said to Moses,

2 “Choose one of the leaders from each of the twelve tribes and send them as spies to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.”

3-15 Moses obeyed and from the wilderness of Paran he sent out leaders, as follows:

Reuben Shammua son of Zaccur
Simeon Shaphat son of Hori
Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh
Issachar Igal son of Joseph
Ephraim Hoshea son of Nun
Benjamin Palti son of Raphu
Zebulun Gaddiel son of Sodi
Manasseh Gaddi son of Susi
Dan Ammiel son of Gemalli
Asher Sethur son of Michael
Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi
Gad Geuel son of Machi

16 These are the spies Moses sent to explore the land. He changed the name of Hoshea son of Nun to Joshua.

17 When Moses sent them out, he said to them, “Go north from here into the southern part of the land of Canaan and then on into the hill country.

18 Find out what kind of country it is, how many people live there, and how strong they are.

19 Find out whether the land is good or bad and whether the people live in open towns or in fortified cities.

20 Find out whether the soil is fertile and whether the land is wooded. And be sure to bring back some of the fruit that grows there.” (It was the season when grapes were beginning to ripen.)

21 So the men went north and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin in the south all the way to Rehob, near Hamath Pass in the north.

22 They went first into the southern part of the land and came to Hebron, where the clans of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of a race of giants called the Anakim, lived. (Hebron was founded seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23 They came to Eshcol Valley, and there they cut off a branch which had one bunch of grapes on it so heavy that it took two men to carry it on a pole between them. They also brought back some pomegranates and figs. (

24 That place was named EshcolValley because of the bunch of grapes the Israelites cut off there.)

25 After exploring the land for forty days, the spies returned

26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had brought.

27 They told Moses, “We explored the land and found it to be rich and fertile; and here is some of its fruit.

28 But the people who live there are powerful, and their cities are very large and well fortified. Even worse, we saw the descendants of the giants there.

29 Amalekites live in the southern part of the land; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and Canaanites live by the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan River.”

30 Caleb silenced the people who were complaining againstMoses, and said, “We should attack now and take the land; we are strong enough to conquer it.”

31 But the men who had gone with Caleb said, “No, we are not strong enough to attack them; the people there are more powerful than we are.”

32 So they spread a false report among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, “That land doesn’t even produce enough to feed the people who live there. Everyone we saw was very tall,

33 and we even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that is how we must have looked to them.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/363/32k/NUM/13-38254da8d2d00080abafbe77537d2268.mp3?version_id=68—