Torah

Genesis

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
6And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."
7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.
8God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day.
9And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.
10God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.
12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
13And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.
14And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,
15and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.
16God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.
17God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,
18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.
20And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."
21So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth."
23And there was evening, and there was morning-the fifth day.
24And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.
25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.
2Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens-
5and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground,
6but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-
7the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
9And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
11The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)
13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.
14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
16And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
18The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
21So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.
22Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man."
24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
3Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
5"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12The man said, "The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
16To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
17To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
20Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
23So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
24After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
4Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man."
2Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
3In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord .
4But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
10The Lord said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.
11Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
12When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
13Cain said to the Lord , "My punishment is more than I can bear.
14Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
15But the Lord said to him, "Not so ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
16So Cain went out from the Lord 's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.
20Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock.
21His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
22Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah.
23Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me.
24If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
25Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."
26Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of the Lord .
5This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
2He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them "man. "
3When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
4After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
5Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
6When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh.
7And after he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters.
8Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
9When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan.
10And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.
11Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
12When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel.
13And after he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.
14Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
15When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared.
16And after he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters.
17Altogether, Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
18When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch.
19And after he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
20Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
21When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.
22And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
23Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years.
24Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
25When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.
26And after he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.
27Altogether, Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died.
28When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son.
29He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed."
30After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters.
31Altogether, Lamech lived 777 years, and then he died.
32After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
6When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
3Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."
4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
6The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
7So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them."
8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord .
9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
10Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.
12God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
13So God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
14So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
15This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high.
16Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
17I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
18But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark-you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.
19You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
20Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.
21You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."
22Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
7The Lord then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
2Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,
3and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.
4Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."
5And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.
6Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth.
7And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
8Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,
9male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.
10And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.
11In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month-on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
12And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.
14They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings.
15Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.
16The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.
17For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth.
18The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
19They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.
20The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. ,
21Every living thing that moved on the earth perished-birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.
22Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
23Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
24The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
8But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.
2Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.
3The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down,
4and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
5The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
6After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark
7and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.
8Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground.
9But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.
10He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.
11When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth.
12He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
13By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.
14By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
15Then God said to Noah,
16"Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.
17Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you-the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground-so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it."
18So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives.
19All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds-everything that moves on the earth-came out of the ark, one kind after another.
20Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
21The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
22"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."
9Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
2The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.
3Everything that lives and moves 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 that has its lifeblood still in it.
5And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
6"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.
7As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it."
8Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:
9"I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you
10and with every living creature that was with you-the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you-every living creature on earth.
11I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
12And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:
13I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,
15I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
16Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
17So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."
18The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
19These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth.
20Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.
21When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.
22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
23But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
24When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him,
25he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers."
26He also said, "Blessed be the Lord , the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27May God extend the territory of Japheth ; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave."
28After the flood Noah lived 350 years.
29Altogether, Noah lived 950 years, and then he died.
10This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. The Japhethites
2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
3The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim.
5(From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.) The Hamites
6The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan.
7The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
8Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth.
9He was a mighty hunter before the Lord ; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord ."
10The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar.
11From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah
12and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
13Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,
14Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites.
15Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites,
16Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites,
17Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,
18Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans scattered
19and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations. The Semites
21Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech.
24Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah the father of Eber.
25Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother was named Joktan.
26Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,
27Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,
28Obal, Abimael, Sheba,
29Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern hill country.
31These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations.
32These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
11Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
2As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.
6The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
8So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9That is why it was called Babel -because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
10This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
11And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.
13And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.
15And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.
17And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.
19And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.
21And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.
23And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.
25And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
28While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth.
29Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah.
30Now Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
12The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
4So Abram left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
6Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
8From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord .
9Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are.
12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live.
13Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."
14When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman.
15And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace.
16He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
17But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.
18So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?
19Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"
20Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
13So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.
2Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier
4and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord .
5Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
6But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.
7And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
8So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers.
9Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."
10Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord , like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
11So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:
12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
13Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord .
14The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.
15All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.
16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
17Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
18So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord .
14At this time Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim
2went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
3All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (the Salt Sea ).
4For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim
6and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert.
7Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon Tamar.
8Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim
9against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five.
10Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills.
11The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.
12They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
13One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.
14When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
16He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
17After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
19and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
20And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."
22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the Lord , God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath
23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'
24I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me-to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."
15After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. "
2But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord , what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
4Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."
5He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
6Abram believed the Lord , and he credited it to him as righteousness.
7He also said to him, "I am the Lord , who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
8But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord , how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
9So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
13Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.
16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-
19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
16Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar;
2so she said to Abram, "The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me."
6"Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
8And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
9Then the angel of the Lord told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."
10The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
11The angel of the Lord also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
13She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
14That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
17When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless.
2I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
4"As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
5No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
6I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.
7I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
9Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.
10This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.
11You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
12For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-those who are not your offspring.
13Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.
14Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
15God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.
16I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
17Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"
18And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"
19Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
20And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
21But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year."
22When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.
24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
25and his son Ishmael was thirteen;
26Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day.
27And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
18The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
5Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way-now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."
7Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said.
10Then the Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'
14Is anything too hard for the Lord ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
16When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17Then the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord .
23Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
28what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
30Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
32Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
33When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
19The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.
2"My lords," he said, "please turn aside to your servant's house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning." "No," they answered, "we will spend the night in the square."
3But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
4Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house.
5They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.
8Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof."
9"Get out of our way," they replied. And they said, "This fellow came here as an alien, and now he wants to play the judge! We'll treat you worse than them." They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door.
11Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12The two men said to Lot, "Do you have anyone else here-sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
13because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."
14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, "Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!" But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished."
16When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.
17As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!"
18But Lot said to them, "No, my lords, please!
19Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can't flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.
20Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it-it is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared."
21He said to him, "Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
22But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (That is why the town was called Zoar. )
23By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land.
24Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah-from the Lord out of the heavens.
25Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities-and also the vegetation in the land.
26But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord .
28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
30Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.
31One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man around here to lie with us, as is the custom all over the earth.
32Let's get our father to drink wine and then lie with him and preserve our family line through our father."
33That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
34The next day the older daughter said to the younger, "Last night I lay with my father. Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father."
35So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went and lay with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
36So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.
37The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab ; he is the father of the Moabites of today.
38The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi ; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
20Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,
2and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."
4Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
5Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."
6Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
7Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."
8Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid.
9Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done."
10And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"
11Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'
12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife.
13And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother." ' "
14Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him.
15And Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like."
16To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again,
18for the Lord had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah.
21Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.
2Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
3Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.
5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
7And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."
8The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
9But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
10and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
11The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.
12But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
13I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
14Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
15When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.
16Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.
17God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.
18Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
19Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.
21While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
22At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.
23Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants. Show to me and the country where you are living as an alien the same kindness I have shown to you."
24Abraham said, "I swear it."
25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.
26But Abimelech said, "I don't know who has done this. You did not tell me, and I heard about it only today."
27So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a treaty.
28Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,
29and Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?"
30He replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as a witness that I dug this well."
31So that place was called Beersheba, because the two men swore an oath there.
32After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord , the Eternal God.
34And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
22Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
2Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,
7Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
12"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
14So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."
15The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time
16and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord , that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
18and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
19Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
20Some time later Abraham was told, "Milcah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor:
21Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
22Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel."
23Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor.
24His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.
23Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old.
2She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said,
4"I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."
5The Hittites replied to Abraham,
6"Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead."
7Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
8He said to them, "If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf
9so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you."
10Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.
11"No, my lord," he said. "Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead."
12Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land
13and he said to Ephron in their hearing, "Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there."
14Ephron answered Abraham,
15"Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between me and you? Bury your dead."
16Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
17So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre-both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field-was deeded
18to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.
19Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
20So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
24Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.
2He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh.
3I want you to swear by the Lord , the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,
4but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
5The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
6"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said.
7"The Lord , the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.
8If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there."
9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor.
11He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
12Then he prayed, "O Lord , God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
13See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.
14May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
15Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
16The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
17The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."
18"Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
19After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking."
20So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
21Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.
22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.
23Then he asked, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"
24She answered him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor."
25And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."
26Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord ,
27saying, "Praise be to the Lord , the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
28The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things.
29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring.
30As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.
31"Come, you who are blessed by the Lord ," he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."
32So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet.
33Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say." "Then tell us," Laban said.
34So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.
35The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys.
36My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns.
37And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live,
38but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.'
39"Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?'
40"He replied, 'The Lord , before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father's family.
41Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you-you will be released from my oath.'
42"When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O Lord , God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come.
43See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar,"
44and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master's son.'
45"Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
46"She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
47"I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' "She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' "Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms,
48and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord . I praised the Lord , the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.
49Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn."
50Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the Lord ; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.
51Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has directed."
52When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord .
53Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.
54Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."
55But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go."
56But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master."
57Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it."
58So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?" "I will go," she said.
59So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men.
60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies."
61Then Rebekah and her maids got ready and mounted their camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev.
63He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.
64Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel
65and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
66Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.
67Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
25Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.
2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.
3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites.
4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
5Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
6But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
7Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.
8Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite,
10the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.
11After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
12This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Sarah's maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
14Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah.
16These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps.
17Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.
18His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
19This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
20and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.
21Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
22The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord .
23The Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."
24When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
25The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.
26After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
27The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.
28Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.
30He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. )
31Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
32"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
33But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
26Now there was a famine in the land-besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time-and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar.
2The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.
3Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed,
5because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws."
6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."
8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her."
10Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."
11So Abimelech gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."
12Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him.
13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
14He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
15So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us."
17So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.
21Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land."
23From there he went up to Beersheba.
24That night the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."
25Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord . There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
26Meanwhile, Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.
27Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?"
28They answered, "We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, 'There ought to be a sworn agreement between us'-between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you
29that you will do us no harm, just as we did not molest you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the Lord ."
30Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
32That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!"
33He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.
34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
35They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
27When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered.
2Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death.
3Now then, get your weapons-your quiver and bow-and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."
5Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back,
6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau,
7'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.'
8Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:
9Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it.
10Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies."
11Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin.
12What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing."
13His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me."
14So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it.
15Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.
16She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.
17Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?"
19Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing."
20Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The Lord your God gave me success," he replied.
21Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not."
22Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
23He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
24"Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied.
25Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank.
26Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me."
27So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
28May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness- an abundance of grain and new wine.
29May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."
30After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting.
31He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing."
32His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau."
33Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him-and indeed he will be blessed!"
34When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me-me too, my father!"
35But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."
36Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"
37Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?"
38Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud.
39His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.
40You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck."
41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
42When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you.
43Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
44Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides.
45When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."
28So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
2Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.
4May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham."
5Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman,"
7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.
8Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac;
9so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
10Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
11When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13There above it stood the Lord , and he said: "I am the Lord , the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
15I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
16When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it."
17He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
18Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
19He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear
21so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God
22and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
29Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.
2There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large.
3When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
4Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?" "We're from Haran," they replied.
5He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?" "Yes, we know him," they answered.
6Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?" "Yes, he is," they said, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."
7"Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture."
8"We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep."
9While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
10When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep.
11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
12He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
13As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things.
14Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month,
15Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be."
16Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful.
18Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel."
19Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me."
20So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
21Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
22So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.
23But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her.
24And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.
25When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"
26Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.
27Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work."
28And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
29Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant.
30Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
31When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
32Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."
33She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon.
34Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi.
35She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the Lord ." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.
30When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!"
2Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"
3Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family."
4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
5and she became pregnant and bore him a son.
6Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan.
7Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.
9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad.
12Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.
14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
15But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night.
17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.
19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
20Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.
21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.
23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace."
24She named him Joseph, and said, "May the Lord add to me another son."
25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.
26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you."
27But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you."
28He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."
29Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.
30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?"
31"What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:
32Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.
33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen."
34"Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said."
35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons.
36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks.
37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.
38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink,
39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals.
41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches,
42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.
43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.
31Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father."
2And Jacob noticed that Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had been.
3Then the Lord said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."
4So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were.
5He said to them, "I see that your father's attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.
6You know that I've worked for your father with all my strength,
7yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me.
8If he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked young.
9So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me.
10"In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted.
11The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.'
12And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.
13I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.' "
14Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father's estate?
15Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us.
16Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you."
17Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels,
18and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
19When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods.
20Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away.
21So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.
22On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled.
23Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.
24Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."
25Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too.
26Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You've deceived me, and you've carried off my daughters like captives in war.
27Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn't you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps?
28You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing.
29I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.'
30Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"
31Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.
32But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.
33So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah's tent, he entered Rachel's tent.
34Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.
35Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I'm having my period." So he searched but could not find the household gods.
36Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. "What is my crime?" he asked Laban. "What sin have I committed that you hunt me down?
37Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.
38"I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.
39I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night.
40This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
41It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.
42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you."
43Laban answered Jacob, "The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne?
44Come now, let's make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us."
45So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
46He said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap.
47Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.
48Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed.
49It was also called Mizpah, because he said, "May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.
50If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me."
51Laban also said to Jacob, "Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me.
52This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me.
53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.
54He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.
55Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
32Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim.
3Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now.
5I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.' "
6When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."
7In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.
8He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape."
9Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord , who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,'
10I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.
11Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.
12But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.' "
13He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau:
14two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
15thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
16He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds."
17He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?'
18then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.' "
19He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.
20And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.' " For he thought, "I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me."
21So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.
22That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
23After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.
24So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
25When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
26Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.
28Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
29Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
31The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
32Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.
33Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants.
2He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear.
3He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
5Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked. Jacob answered, "They are the children God has graciously given your servant."
6Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down.
7Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
8Esau asked, "What do you mean by all these droves I met?" "To find favor in your eyes, my lord," he said.
9But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself."
10"No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.
11Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.
12Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you."
13But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.
14So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir."
15Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my men with you." "But why do that?" Jacob asked. "Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord."
16So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
17Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.
18After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city.
19For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.
20There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
34Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land.
2When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.
3His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
4And Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl as my wife."
5When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they came home.
6Then Shechem's father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.
7Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter-a thing that should not be done.
8But Hamor said to them, "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
9Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.
10You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it."
11Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask.
12Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the girl as my wife."
13Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor.
14They said to them, "We can't do such a thing; we can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us.
15We will give our consent to you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.
16Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you.
17But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go."
18Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.
19The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter.
20So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to their fellow townsmen.
21"These men are friendly toward us," they said. "Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.
22But the men will consent to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are.
23Won't their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us give our consent to them, and they will settle among us."
24All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
25Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male.
26They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left.
27The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled.
28They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.
29They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."
31But they replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"
35Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."
2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
3Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone."
4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.
5Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.
6Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
7There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So it was named Allon Bacuth.
9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.
10God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. " So he named him Israel.
11And God said to him, "I am God Almighty ; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body.
12The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."
13Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
15Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.
16Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty.
17And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son."
18As she breathed her last-for she was dying-she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin.
19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
20Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel's tomb.
21Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Jacob had twelve sons:
23The sons of Leah: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Rachel's maidservant Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali.
26The sons of Leah's maidservant Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
28Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.
29Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom).
2Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite-
3also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
4Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel,
5and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in Canaan.
6Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all his other animals and all the goods he had acquired in Canaan, and moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob.
7Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land where they were staying could not support them both because of their livestock.
8So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.
9This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
10These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath.
11The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz.
12Esau's son Eliphaz also had a concubine named Timna, who bore him Amalek. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Adah.
13The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
14The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon, whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam and Korah.
15These were the chiefs among Esau's descendants: The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
16Korah, Gatam and Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in Edom; they were grandsons of Adah.
17The sons of Esau's son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in Edom; they were grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.
18The sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
19These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs.
20These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the region: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
21Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These sons of Seir in Edom were Horite chiefs.
22The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. Timna was Lotan's sister.
23The sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho and Onam.
24The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
25The children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.
26The sons of Dishon : Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran and Keran.
27The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan and Akan.
28The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
30Dishon, Ezer and Dishan. These were the Horite chiefs, according to their divisions, in the land of Seir.
31These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned :
32Bela son of Beor became king of Edom. His city was named Dinhabah.
33When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah succeeded him as king.
34When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.
35When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. His city was named Avith.
36When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.
37When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.
38When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor succeeded him as king.
39When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. His city was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
40These were the chiefs descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
43Magdiel and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they occupied. This was Esau the father of the Edomites.
37Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.
4When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
6He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had:
7We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."
8His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
10When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"
11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
12Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem,
13and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them." "Very well," he replied.
14So he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem,
15a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, "What are you looking for?"
16He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?"
17"They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' " So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
18But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19"Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.
20"Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."
21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said.
22"Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe-the richly ornamented robe he was wearing-
24and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.
28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
30He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?"
31Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
32They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe."
33He recognized it and said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces."
34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.
35All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son." So his father wept for him.
36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.
38At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah.
2There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her;
3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.
4She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.
5She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
6Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the Lord 's sight; so the Lord put him to death.
8Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother."
9But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother.
10What he did was wicked in the Lord 's sight; so he put him to death also.
11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.
12After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
13When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,"
14she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you." "And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked.
17"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said. "Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked.
18He said, "What pledge should I give you?" "Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
19After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again.
20Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her.
21He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said.
22So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.' "
23Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."
24About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!"
25As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."
26Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.
27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
28As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first."
29But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!" And he was named Perez.
30Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.
39Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,
4Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
5From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
6So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
7and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
8But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.
9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.
12She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,
14she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.
15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.
17Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.
18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger.
20Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,
21the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.
23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
40Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.
2Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
3and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.
4The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time,
5each of the two men-the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison-had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
6When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.
7So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?"
8"We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."
9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me,
10and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.
11Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand."
12"This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days.
13Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.
14But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.
15For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon."
16When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.
17In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."
18"This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days.
19Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh."
20Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials:
21He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand,
22but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.
23The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
41When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile,
2when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.
3After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank.
4And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.
6After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted-thin and scorched by the east wind.
7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
8In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.
10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.
11Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
12Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.
13And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged. "
14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
16"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,
18when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.
19After them, seven other cows came up-scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt.
20The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first.
21But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.
22"In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk.
23After them, seven other heads sprouted-withered and thin and scorched by the east wind.
24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."
25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream.
27The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.
28"It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
29Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
30but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.
31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe.
32The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
33"And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.
34Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
35They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food.
36This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine."
37The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.
38So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God ?"
39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.
40You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."
41So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."
42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
43He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way !" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
44Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."
45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt.
47During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.
48Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it.
49Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.
50Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
51Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."
52The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."
53The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end,
54and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.
55When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he tells you."
56When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt.
57And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the world.
42When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you just keep looking at each other?"
2He continued, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."
3Then ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.
5So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
6Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
7As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked. "From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food."
8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
10"No, my lord," they answered. "Your servants have come to buy food.
11We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies."
12"No!" he said to them. "You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
13But they replied, "Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."
14Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies!
15And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
16Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!"
17And he put them all in custody for three days.
18On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God:
19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.
20But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do.
21They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us."
22Reuben replied, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood."
23They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
24He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
25Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them,
26they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.
27At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.
28"My silver has been returned," he said to his brothers. "Here it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, "What is this that God has done to us?"
29When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said,
30"The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land.
31But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies.
32We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.'
33"Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, 'This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go.
34But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.' "
35As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.
36Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"
37Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back."
38But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."
43Now the famine was still severe in the land.
2So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food."
3But Judah said to him, "The man warned us solemnly, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'
4If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.
5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' "
6Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?"
7They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?"
8Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.
9I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.
10As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice."
11Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift-a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds.
12Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.
13Take your brother also and go back to the man at once.
14And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved."
15So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph.
16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon."
17The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph's house.
18Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."
19So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.
20"Please, sir," they said, "we came down here the first time to buy food.
21But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver-the exact weight-in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us.
22We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks."
23"It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys.
25They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.
26When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.
27He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?"
28They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed low to pay him honor.
29As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son."
30Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.
31After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food."
32They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians.
33The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment.
34When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
44Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack.
2Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said.
3As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
4They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil?
5Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.' "
6When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them.
7But they said to him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!
8We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house?
9If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves."
10"Very well, then," he said, "let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame."
11Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.
12Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
14Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
15Joseph said to them, "What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?"
16"What can we say to my lord?" Judah replied. "What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves-we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup."
17But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace."
18Then Judah went up to him and said: "Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
19My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'
20And we answered, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'
21"Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.'
22And we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.'
23But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.'
24When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
25"Then our father said, 'Go back and buy a little more food.'
26But we said, 'We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot 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.
28One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since.
29If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.'
30"So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life,
31sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.
32Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!'
33"Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father."
45Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
2And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
3Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
4Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
5And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
6For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.
7But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
9Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay.
10You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me-you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.
11I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.'
12"You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you.
13Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly."
14Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping.
15And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
16When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.
17Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan,
18and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.'
19"You are also directed to tell them, 'Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come.
20Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.' "
21So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.
22To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.
23And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey.
24Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way!"
25So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.
26They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt." Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them.
27But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28And Israel said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
46So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he replied.
3"I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
4I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."
5Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel's sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him.
6They also took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.
7He took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters-all his offspring.
8These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.
9The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
13The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.
14The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon and Jahleel.
15These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.
16The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
17The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel.
18These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah-sixteen in all.
19The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
20In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
21The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob-fourteen in all.
23The son of Dan: Hushim.
24The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
25These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel-seven in all.
26All those who went to Egypt with Jacob-those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons' wives-numbered sixty-six persons.
27With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob's family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.
28Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen,
29Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.
30Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive."
31Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
32The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.'
33When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?'
34you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."
47Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen."
2He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
3Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?" "Your servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were."
4They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen."
5Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you,
6and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh,
8Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?"
9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers."
10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
11So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed.
12Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children.
13There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.
14Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace.
15When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up."
16"Then bring your livestock," said Joseph. "I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone."
17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, "We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
19Why should we perish before your eyes-we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."
20So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's,
21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.
22However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground.
24But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children."
25"You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh."
26So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt-still in force today-that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh's.
27Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.
28Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.
29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
30but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried." "I will do as you say," he said.
31"Swear to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
48Some time later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.
2When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me
4and said to me, 'I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.'
5"Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
6Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.
7As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).
8When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"
9"They are the sons God has given me here," Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."
10Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
11Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too."
12Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.
13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him.
14But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.
15Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
16the Angel who has delivered me from all harm -may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth."
17When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
18Joseph said to him, "No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."
19But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations."
20He blessed them that day and said, "In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' " So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers.
22And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."
49Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
5"Simeon and Levi are brothers- their swords are weapons of violence.
6Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse 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 to you.
9You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness-who dares to rouse him?
10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
11He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
12His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
13"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
14"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.
15When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
16"Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
18"I look for your deliverance, O Lord .
19"Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.
20"Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
22"Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.
23With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
24But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
26Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder."
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
29Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.
31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. "
33When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
50Joseph threw himself upon his father and wept over him and kissed him.
2Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,
3taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh's court, "If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him,
5'My father made me swear an oath and said, "I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan." Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.' "
6Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do."
7So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officials accompanied him-the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt-
8besides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.
9Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
10When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father.
11When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning." That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.
12So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them:
13They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.
14After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
15When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"
16So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died:
17'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.
19But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
22Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years
23and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph's knees.
24Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
25And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."
26So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus

1These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
2Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah;
3Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin;
4Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.
5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,
7but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
8Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
9"Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much too numerous for us.
10Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."
11So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
12But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites
13and worked them ruthlessly.
14They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,
16"When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live."
17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.
18Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"
19The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
20So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous.
21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."
2Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
2and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
3But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it.
6She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.
7Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"
8"Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.
9Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."
11One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
12Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"
14The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."
15When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
16Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock.
17Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
18When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, "Why have you returned so early today?"
19They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock."
20"And where is he?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat."
21Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.
22Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become an alien in a foreign land."
23During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
24God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
25So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
3Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
3So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up."
4When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
5"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey-the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
11But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
13Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'IAM has sent me to you.' "
15God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The Lord , the God of your fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
16"Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord , the God of your fathers-the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
17And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites-a land flowing with milk and honey.'
18"The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord , the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.'
19But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him.
20So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
21"And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.
22Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians."
4Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?"
2Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied.
3The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
4Then the Lord said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
5"This," said the Lord , "is so that they may believe that the Lord , the God of their fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has appeared to you."
6Then the Lord said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow.
7"Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
8Then the Lord said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second.
9But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground."
10Moses said to the Lord , "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."
11The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord ?
12Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."
13But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it."
14Then the Lord 's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you.
15You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.
16He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.
17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it."
18Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well."
19Now the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead."
20So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
21The Lord said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
22Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,
23and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.' "
24At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met [Moses] and was about to kill him.
25But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched [Moses'] feet with it. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said
26So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.)
27The Lord said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.
28Then Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say, and also about all the miraculous signs he had commanded him to perform.
29Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites,
30and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people,
31and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
5Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: 'Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the desert.' "
2Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord , that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go."
3Then they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword."
4But the king of Egypt said, "Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!"
5Then Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working."
6That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and foremen in charge of the people:
7"You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.
8But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don't reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'
9Make the work harder for the men so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies."
10Then the slave drivers and the foremen went out and said to the people, "This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw.
11Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.' "
12So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
13The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, "Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw."
14The Israelite foremen appointed by Pharaoh's slave drivers were beaten and were asked, "Why didn't you meet your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?"
15Then the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: "Why have you treated your servants this way?
16Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, 'Make bricks!' Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people."
17Pharaoh said, "Lazy, that's what you are-lazy! That is why you keep saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord .'
18Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks."
19The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, "You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day."
20When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them,
21and they said, "May the Lord look upon you and judge you! You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22Moses returned to the Lord and said, "O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me?
23Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all."
6Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."
2God also said to Moses, "I am the Lord .
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.
4I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they lived as aliens.
5Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
6"Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the Lord , and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
7I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
8And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord .' "
9Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.
10Then the Lord said to Moses,
11"Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country."
12But Moses said to the Lord , "If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips ?"
13Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
14These were the heads of their families : The sons of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
15The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
16These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
17The sons of Gershon, by clans, were Libni and Shimei.
18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.
19The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi according to their records.
20Amram married his father's sister Jochebed, who bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
21The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zicri.
22The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri.
23Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
25Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.
26It was this same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, "Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions."
27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. It was the same Moses and Aaron.
28Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt,
29he said to him, "I am the Lord . Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you."
30But Moses said to the Lord , "Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?"
7Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
2You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.
3But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt,
4he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites.
5And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
6Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them.
7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
9"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' then say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,' and it will become a snake."
10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake.
11Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts:
12Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.
13Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.
16Then say to him, 'The Lord , the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert. But until now you have not listened.
17This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord : With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.
18The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.' "
19The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt-over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs'-and they will turn to blood. Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars."
20Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
21The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
22But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
23Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
24And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.
25Seven days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.
8Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
2If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
3The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs.
4The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials.' "
5Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.' "
6So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land.
7But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
8Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord ."
9Moses said to Pharaoh, "I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile."
10"Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the Lord our God.
11The frogs will leave you and your houses, your officials and your people; they will remain only in the Nile."
12After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh.
13And the Lord did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields.
14They were piled into heaps, and the land reeked of them.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
16Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats."
17They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats.
18But when the magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, they could not. And the gnats were on men and animals.
19The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.
20Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the water and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
21If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and even the ground where they are.
22" 'But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the Lord , am in this land.
23I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.' "
24And the Lord did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies.
25Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land."
26But Moses said, "That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the Lord our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us?
27We must take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he commands us."
28Pharaoh said, "I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me."
29Moses answered, "As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord , and tomorrow the flies will leave Pharaoh and his officials and his people. Only be sure that Pharaoh does not act deceitfully again by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord ."
30Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord ,
31and the Lord did what Moses asked: The flies left Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not a fly remained.
32But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not let the people go.
9Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord , the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that they may worship me."
2If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,
3the hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field-on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats.
4But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.' "
5The Lord set a time and said, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land."
6And the next day the Lord did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.
7Pharaoh sent men to investigate and found that not even one of the animals of the Israelites had died. Yet his heart was unyielding and he would not let the people go.
8Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh.
9It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land."
10So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals.
11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians.
12But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.
13Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord , the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me,
14or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.
16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
17You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.
18Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now.
19Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.' "
20Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside.
21But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt-on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt."
23When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt;
24hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
25Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields-both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.
26The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.
27Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong.
28Pray to the Lord , for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."
29Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the Lord . The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the Lord 's.
30But I know that you and your officials still do not fear the Lord God."
31(The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom.
32The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
33Then Moses left Pharaoh and went out of the city. He spread out his hands toward the Lord ; the thunder and hail stopped, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.
35So Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said through Moses.
10Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them
2that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord ."
3So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the Lord , the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.
4If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.
5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.
6They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians-something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.' " Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh.
7Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?"
8Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your God," he said. "But just who will be going?"
9Moses answered, "We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the Lord ."
10Pharaoh said, "The Lord be with you-if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil.
11No! Have only the men go; and worship the Lord , since that's what you have been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh's presence.
12And the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."
13So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the Lord made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;
14they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again.
15They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail-everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
16Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.
17Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me."
18Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord .
19And the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
21Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt-darkness that can be felt."
22So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.
23No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.
24Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the Lord . Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind."
25But Moses said, "You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God.
26Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord ."
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to let them go.
28Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die."
29"Just as you say," Moses replied, "I will never appear before you again."
11Now the Lord had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.
2Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold."
3(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.)
4So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.
5Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
6There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt-worse than there has ever been or ever will be again.
7But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.' Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.
8All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you!' After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
9The Lord had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you-so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt."
10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.
12The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,
2"This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
3Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
4If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
5The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
6Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
7Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
8That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast.
9Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire-head, legs and inner parts.
10Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.
11This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord 's Passover.
12"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn-both men and animals-and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord .
13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
14"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord -a lasting ordinance.
15For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.
16On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat-that is all you may do.
17"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
18In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day.
19For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.
20Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."
21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.
22Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.
23When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
24"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.
26And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?'
27then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord , who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' " Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
28The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.
29At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
30Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
31During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.
32Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."
33The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!"
34So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.
35The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.
36The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.
37The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.
38Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
39With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.
40Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.
41At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord 's divisions left Egypt.
42Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.
43The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover: "No foreigner is to eat of it.
44Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him,
45but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it.
46"It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.
47The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48"An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord 's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it.
49The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you."
50All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.
51And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.
13The Lord said to Moses,
2"Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."
3Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
4Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.
5When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites-the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey-you are to observe this ceremony in this month:
6For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord .
7Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.
8On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.'
9This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
10You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
11"After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers,
12you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord .
13Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14"In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.'
16And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."
17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."
18So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.
19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place."
20After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.
21By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
22Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
14Then the Lord said to Moses,
2"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.
3Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'
4And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord ." So the Israelites did this.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"
6So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.
7He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.
9The Egyptians-all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops-pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord .
11They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
12Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
15Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
16Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
17I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.
18The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
19Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them,
20coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided,
22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.
24During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.
25He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt."
26Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen."
27Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.
28The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen-the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
30That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
31And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
15Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord : "I will sing to the Lord , for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.
2The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
4Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
5The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone.
6"Your right hand, O Lord , was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord , shattered the enemy.
7In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble.
8By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9"The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.'
10But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11"Who among the gods is like you, O Lord ? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
12You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them.
13"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
14The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away;
16terror and dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone- until your people pass by, O Lord , until the people you bought pass by.
17You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance- the place, O Lord , you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.
18The Lord will reign for ever and ever."
19When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
20Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.
21Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the Lord , for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea."
22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.
23When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah. )
24So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"
25Then Moses cried out to the Lord , and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.
26He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord , who heals you."
27Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.
16The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.
2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
3The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord 's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."
4Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.
5On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,
7and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord , because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?"
8Moses also said, "You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord ."
9Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, 'Come before the Lord , for he has heard your grumbling.' "
10While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.
11The Lord said to Moses,
12"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.' "
13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.
15When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.
16This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.' "
17The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.
18And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.
19Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."
20However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much-two omers for each person-and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
23He said to them, "This is what the Lord commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord . So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' "
24So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.
25"Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the Lord . You will not find any of it on the ground today.
26Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
27Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
28Then the Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?
29Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.' "
33So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come."
34As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept.
35The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36(An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)
17The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.
2So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?"
3But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"
4Then Moses cried out to the Lord , "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."
5The Lord answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
6I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
8The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.
9Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
10So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill.
11As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
12When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up-one on one side, one on the other-so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
13So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
14Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
15Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.
16He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord . The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."
18Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her
3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land";
4and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh."
5Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God.
6Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons."
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.
8Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10He said, "Praise be to the Lord , who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."
12Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
15Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will.
16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws."
17Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.
18You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
19Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him.
20Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.
21But select capable men from all the people-men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
22Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
27Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
19In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt-on the very day-they came to the Desert of Sinai.
2After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:
4'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
5Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
6you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
7So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.
8The people all responded together, "We will do everything the Lord has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord .
9The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
10And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes
11and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
13He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."
14After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.
15Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations."
16On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
17Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
18Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,
19and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.
20The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up
21and the Lord said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.
22Even the priests, who approach the Lord , must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them."
23Moses said to the Lord , "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.' "
24The Lord replied, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord , or he will break out against them."
25So Moses went down to the people and told them.
20And God spoke all these words:
2"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3"You shall have no other gods before me.
4"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
6but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13"You shall not murder.
14"You shall not commit adultery.
15"You shall not steal.
16"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance
19and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
20Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
21The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:
23Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24" 'Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.
25If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.
26And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.'
21"These are the laws you are to set before them:
2"If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.
3If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.
4If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
5"But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,'
6then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
7"If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.
8If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.
9If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.
10If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.
11If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
12"Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.
13However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate.
14But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.
15"Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.
16"Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.
17"Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.
18"If men quarrel and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and he does not die but is confined to bed,
19the one who struck the blow will not be held responsible if the other gets up and walks around outside with his staff; however, he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed.
20"If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished,
21but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.
22"If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows.
23But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,
24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26"If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye.
27And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth.
28"If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.
29If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death.
30However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.
31This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter.
32If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.
33"If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
34the owner of the pit must pay for the loss; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
35"If a man's bull injures the bull of another and it dies, they are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally.
36However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and the dead animal will be his.
22"If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
2"If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;
3but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. "A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.
4"If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession-whether ox or donkey or sheep-he must pay back double.
5"If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.
6"If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.
7"If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor's house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double.
8But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man's property.
9In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, 'This is mine,' both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
10"If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking,
11the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person's property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required.
12But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
13If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he shall bring in the remains as evidence and he will not be required to pay for the torn animal.
14"If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must make restitution.
15But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.
16"If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.
17If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
18"Do not allow a sorceress to live.
19"Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.
20"Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.
21"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.
22"Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.
23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.
24My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
25"If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.
26If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset,
27because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
28"Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
29"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. "You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
30Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.
31"You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.
23"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.
2"Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,
3and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4"If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him.
5If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.
6"Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
7Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8"Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
9"Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.
10"For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,
11but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12"Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.
13"Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
14"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
16"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. "Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
17"Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord .
18"Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast. "The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.
19"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
20"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
21Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
22If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.
23My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.
24Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.
25Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,
26and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
27"I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.
28I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
29But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.
30Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
31"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.
32Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
33Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you."
24Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord , you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,
2but Moses alone is to approach the Lord ; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."
3When Moses went and told the people all the Lord 's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do."
4Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
5Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord .
6Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."
8Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words."
9Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up
10and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.
11But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."
13Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.
14He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."
15When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
16and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.
17To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
18Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
25The Lord said to Moses,
2"Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.
3These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze;
4blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;
5ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ; acacia wood;
6olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
7and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
8"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
9Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
10"Have them make a chest of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
11Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.
12Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.
13Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
14Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it.
15The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.
16Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
17"Make an atonement cover of pure gold-two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
18And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
19Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.
20The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.
21Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
22There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
23"Make a table of acacia wood-two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.
24Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it.
25Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.
26Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are.
27The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table.
28Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them.
29And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings.
30Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.
31"Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it.
32Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand-three on one side and three on the other.
33Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand.
34And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.
35One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair-six branches in all.
36The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
37"Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it.
38Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold.
39A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories.
40See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
26"Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.
2All the curtains are to be the same size-twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.
3Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five.
4Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set.
5Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.
6Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.
7"Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle-eleven altogether.
8All eleven curtains are to be the same size-thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.
9Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent.
10Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.
11Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit.
12As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle.
13The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it.
14Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.
15"Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
16Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,
17with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.
18Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle
19and make forty silver bases to go under them-two bases for each frame, one under each projection.
20For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames
21and forty silver bases-two under each frame.
22Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,
23and make two frames for the corners at the far end.
24At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top, and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that.
25So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases-two under each frame.
26"Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,
27five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle.
28The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames.
29Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.
30"Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.
31"Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.
32Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.
33Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
34Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.
35Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.
36"For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer.
37Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.
27"Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.
2Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze.
3Make all its utensils of bronze-its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
4Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network.
5Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar.
6Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze.
7The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried.
8Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
9"Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen,
10with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
11The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
12"The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases.
13On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide.
14Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases,
15and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.
16"For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer-with four posts and four bases.
17All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases.
18The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases.
19All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.
20"Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.
21In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.
28"Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.
2Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor.
3Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.
4These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests.
5Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.
6"Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen-the work of a skilled craftsman.
7It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened.
8Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it-of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.
9"Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel
10in the order of their birth-six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other.
11Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings
12and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord .
13Make gold filigree settings
14and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.
15"Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions-the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
16It is to be square-a span long and a span wide-and folded double.
17Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;
18in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;
19in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;
20in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.
21There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
22"For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope.
23Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece.
24Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece,
25and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.
26Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod.
27Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod.
28The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.
29"Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord .
30Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord . Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord .
31"Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth,
32with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear.
33Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.
34The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.
35Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
36"Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal:HOLY TO THE Lord .
37Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban.
38It will be on Aaron's forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron's forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord .
39"Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer.
40Make tunics, sashes and headbands for Aaron's sons, to give them dignity and honor.
41After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.
42"Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh.
43Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. "This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.
29"This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect.
2And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.
3Put them in a basket and present them in it-along with the bull and the two rams.
4Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
5Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband.
6Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban.
7Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.
8Bring his sons and dress them in tunics
9and put headbands on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. In this way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
10"Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
11Slaughter it in the Lord 's presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
12Take some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.
13Then take all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.
14But burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
15"Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
16Slaughter it and take the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides.
17Cut the ram into pieces and wash the inner parts and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces.
18Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord , a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.
19"Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.
20Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides.
21And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.
22"Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.)
23From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord , take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer.
24Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.
25Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord , an offering made to the Lord by fire.
26After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share.
27"Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented.
28This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.
29"Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.
30The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.
31"Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place.
32At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket.
33They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred.
34And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred.
35"Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them.
36Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.
37For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
38"This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old.
39Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight.
40With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
41Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning-a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.
42"For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord . There I will meet you and speak to you;
43there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.
44"So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests.
45Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
46They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
30"Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.
2It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high -its horns of one piece with it.
3Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.
4Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding-two on opposite sides-to hold the poles used to carry it.
5Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
6Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony-before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony-where I will meet with you.
7"Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps.
8He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.
9Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it.
10Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord ."
11Then the Lord said to Moses,
12"When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.
13Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord .
14All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord .
15The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.
16Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord , making atonement for your lives."
17Then the Lord said to Moses,
18"Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
19Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it.
20Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the Lord by fire,
21they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come."
22Then the Lord said to Moses,
23"Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,
24500 shekels of cassia-all according to the sanctuary shekel-and a hin of olive oil.
25Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil.
26Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony,
27the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense,
28the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.
29You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
30"Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.
31Say to the Israelites, 'This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.
32Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.
33Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.' "
34Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take fragrant spices-gum resin, onycha and galbanum-and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts,
35and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred.
36Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.
37Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord .
38Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people."
31Then the Lord said to Moses,
2"See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-
4to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
5to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.
6Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you:
7the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent-
8the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense,
9the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand-
10and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests,
11and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you."
12Then the Lord said to Moses,
13"Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord , who makes you holy.
14" 'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.
15For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord . Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.
16The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.
17It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.' "
18When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
32When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."
2Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me."
3So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
4He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."
5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord ."
6So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
7Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.
8They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'
9"I have seen these people," the Lord said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people.
10Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."
11But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. "O Lord ," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
12Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.
13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' "
14Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
15Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
16The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "There is the sound of war in the camp."
18Moses replied: "It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear."
19When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
20And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?"
22"Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil.
23They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'
24So I told them, 'Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.' Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"
25Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
26So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the Lord , come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him.
27Then he said to them, "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' "
28The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
29Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."
30The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord ; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.
32But now, please forgive their sin-but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."
33The Lord replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.
34Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
33Then the Lord said to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.'
2I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
3Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way."
4When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments.
5For the Lord had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.' "
6So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.
7Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.
8And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent.
9As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.
10Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent.
11The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
12Moses said to the Lord , "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.'
13If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."
14The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
15Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
16How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
17And the Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."
18Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
19And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord , in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
20But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
21Then the Lord said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
22When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."
34The Lord said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
2Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.
3No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain."
4So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.
5Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord .
6And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord , the Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
8Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
9"O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."
10Then the Lord said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord , will do for you.
11Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
12Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.
13Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.
14Do not worship any other god, for the Lord , whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15"Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.
16And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.
17"Do not make cast idols.
18"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
19"The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock.
20Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
21"Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
22"Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.
23Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord , the God of Israel.
24I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.
25"Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.
26"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. "Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk."
27Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."
28Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant-the Ten Commandments.
29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord .
30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
31But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
32Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.
33When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
34But whenever he entered the Lord 's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,
35they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord .
35Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do:
2For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord . Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.
3Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."
4Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the Lord has commanded:
5From what you have, take an offering for the Lord . Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze;
6blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;
7ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ; acacia wood;
8olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
9and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
10"All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded:
11the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases;
12the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it;
13the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence;
14the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light;
15the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle;
16the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand;
17the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;
18the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes;
19the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary-both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests."
20Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence,
21and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.
22All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord .
23Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them.
24Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord , and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.
25Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun-blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen.
26And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair.
27The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
28They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.
29All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.
30Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
31and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-
32to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,
33to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.
34And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.
35He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers-all of them master craftsmen and designers.
36So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded."
2Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.
3They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.
4So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work
5and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done."
6Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more,
7because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
8All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.
9All the curtains were the same size-twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.
10They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five.
11Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set.
12They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.
13Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle-eleven altogether.
15All eleven curtains were the same size-thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.
16They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set.
17Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.
18They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit.
19Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.
20They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
21Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,
22with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.
23They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle
24and made forty silver bases to go under them-two bases for each frame, one under each projection.
25For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames
26and forty silver bases-two under each frame.
27They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,
28and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end.
29At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike.
30So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases-two under each frame.
31They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,
32five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle.
33They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames.
34They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
35They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.
36They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases.
37For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer;
38and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.
37Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
2He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.
3He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.
4Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
5And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.
6He made the atonement cover of pure gold-two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
7Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
8He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover.
9The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
10They made the table of acacia wood-two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
11Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it.
12They also made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.
13They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were.
14The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table.
15The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold.
16And they made from pure gold the articles for the table-its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings.
17They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it.
18Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand-three on one side and three on the other.
19Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand.
20And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.
21One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair-six branches in all.
22The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.
23They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold.
24They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent of pure gold.
25They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high -its horns of one piece with it.
26They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it.
27They made two gold rings below the molding-two on opposite sides-to hold the poles used to carry it.
28They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense-the work of a perfumer.
38They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.
2They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.
3They made all its utensils of bronze-its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.
4They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar.
5They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating.
6They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.
7They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.
8They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
9Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen,
10with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
11The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
12The west end was fifty cubits wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
13The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide.
14Curtains fifteen cubits long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases,
15and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases.
16All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen.
17The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.
18The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high,
19with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver.
20All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.
21These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which were recorded at Moses' command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
22(Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses;
23with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan-a craftsman and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.)
24The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
25The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel-
26one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men.
27The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain-100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base.
28They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.
29The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.
30They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils,
31the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.
39From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.
2They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
3They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen-the work of a skilled craftsman.
4They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened.
5Its skillfully woven waistband was like it-of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.
6They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel.
7Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.
8They fashioned the breastpiece-the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.
9It was square-a span long and a span wide-and folded double.
10Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;
11in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;
12in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;
13in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings.
14There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
15For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope.
16They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece.
17They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece,
18and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.
19They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod.
20Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod.
21They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod-as the Lord commanded Moses.
22They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth-the work of a weaver-
23with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar, and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear.
24They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe.
25And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates.
26The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
27For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen-the work of a weaver-
28and the turban of fine linen, the linen headbands and the undergarments of finely twisted linen.
29The sash was of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn-the work of an embroiderer-as the Lord commanded Moses.
30They made the plate, the sacred diadem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE Lord .
31Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the Lord commanded Moses.
32So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.
33Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases;
34the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of hides of sea cows and the shielding curtain;
35the ark of the Testimony with its poles and the atonement cover;
36the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence;
37the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the oil for the light;
38the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent;
39the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand;
40the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting;
41and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.
42The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
43Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
40Then the Lord said to Moses:
2"Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month.
3Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain.
4Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.
5Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
6"Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting;
7place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it.
8Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.
9"Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.
10Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy.
11Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.
12"Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.
13Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest.
14Bring his sons and dress them in tunics.
15Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come."
16Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
17So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.
18When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts.
19Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him.
20He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it.
21Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord commanded him.
22Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain
23and set out the bread on it before the Lord , as the Lord commanded him.
24He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle
25and set up the lamps before the Lord , as the Lord commanded him.
26Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain
27and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him.
28Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
29He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him.
30He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing,
31and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet.
32They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses.
33Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. The Glory of the Lord
34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
35Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out;
37but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day it lifted.
38So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.

Leviticus

1The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an offering to the Lord , bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
3" 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord .
4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
5He is to slaughter the young bull before the Lord , and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
6He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.
7The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.
8Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar.
9He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
10" 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect.
11He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the Lord , and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.
12He is to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar.
13He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
14" 'If the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon.
15The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar.
16He is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are.
17He shall tear it open by the wings, not severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
2" 'When someone brings a grain offering to the Lord , his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it
2and take it to Aaron's sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
3The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.
4" 'If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of fine flour: cakes made without yeast and mixed with oil, or wafers made without yeast and spread with oil.
5If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of fine flour mixed with oil, and without yeast.
6Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.
7If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour and oil.
8Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord ; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar.
9He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
10The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.
11" 'Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in an offering made to the Lord by fire.
12You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.
13Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.
14" 'If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord , offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire.
15Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering.
16The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as an offering made to the Lord by fire.
3" 'If someone's offering is a fellowship offering, and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he is to present before the Lord an animal without defect.
2He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood against the altar on all sides.
3From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the Lord by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,
4both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.
5Then Aaron's sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
6" 'If he offers an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the Lord , he is to offer a male or female without defect.
7If he offers a lamb, he is to present it before the Lord .
8He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.
9From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the Lord by fire: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,
10both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.
11The priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made to the Lord by fire.
12" 'If his offering is a goat, he is to present it before the Lord .
13He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron's sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.
14From what he offers he is to make this offering to the Lord by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,
15both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.
16The priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the Lord 's.
17" 'This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.' "
4The Lord said to Moses,
2"Say to the Israelites: 'When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord 's commands-
3" 'If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.
4He is to present the bull at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord . He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the Lord .
5Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into the Tent of Meeting.
6He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord , in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.
7The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the bull's blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
8He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering-the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,
9both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys-
10just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
11But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the inner parts and offal-
12that is, all the rest of the bull-he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood fire on the ash heap.
13" 'If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord 's commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty.
14When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.
15The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull's head before the Lord , and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord .
16Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull's blood into the Tent of Meeting.
17He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the Lord seven times in front of the curtain.
18He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
19He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar,
20and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
21Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.
22" 'When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, he is guilty.
23When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.
24He is to lay his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord . It is a sin offering.
25Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
26He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man's sin, and he will be forgiven.
27" 'If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord 's commands, he is guilty.
28When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.
29He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.
30Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
31He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord . In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
32" 'If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect.
33He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.
34Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
35He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the Lord by fire. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
5" 'If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.
2" 'Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean-whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the ground-even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty.
3" 'Or if he touches human uncleanness-anything that would make him unclean-even though he is unaware of it, when he learns of it he will be guilty.
4" 'Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil-in any matter one might carelessly swear about-even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty.
5" 'When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned
6and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
7" 'If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord as a penalty for his sin-one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.
8He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not severing it completely,
9and is to sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering.
10The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.
11" 'If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering.
12He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the Lord by fire. It is a sin offering.
13In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.' "
14The Lord said to Moses:
15"When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord 's holy things, he is to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering.
16He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.
17"If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord 's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.
18He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the wrong he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.
19It is a guilt offering; he has been guilty of wrongdoing against the Lord ."
6The Lord said to Moses:
2"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him,
3or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-
4when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,
5or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.
6And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord , his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value.
7In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord , and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty."
8The Lord said to Moses:
9"Give Aaron and his sons this command: 'These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.
10The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar.
11Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.
12The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it.
13The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
14" 'These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron's sons are to bring it before the Lord , in front of the altar.
15The priest is to take a handful of fine flour and oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
16Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
17It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the offerings made to me by fire. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy.
18Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is his regular share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire for the generations to come. Whatever touches them will become holy. ' "
19The Lord also said to Moses,
20"This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.
21Prepare it with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
22The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the Lord 's regular share and is to be burned completely.
23Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten."
24The Lord said to Moses,
25"Say to Aaron and his sons: 'These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy.
26The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
27Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place.
28The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water.
29Any male in a priest's family may eat it; it is most holy.
30But 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.
7" 'These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy:
2The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be sprinkled against the altar on all sides.
3All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the inner parts,
4both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.
5The priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made to the Lord by fire. It is a guilt offering.
6Any male in a priest's family may eat it, but it must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
7" 'The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them.
8The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself.
9Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it,
10and every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.
11" 'These are the regulations for the fellowship offering a person may present to the Lord :
12" 'If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil.
13Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast.
14He is to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord ; it belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings.
15The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning.
16" 'If, however, his offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day he offers it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.
17Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up.
18If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who offered it, for it is impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.
19" 'Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it.
20But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord , that person must be cut off from his people.
21If anyone touches something unclean-whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean, detestable thing-and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord , that person must be cut off from his people.' "
22The Lord said to Moses,
23"Say to the Israelites: 'Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.
24The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.
25Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which an offering by fire may be made to the Lord must be cut off from his people.
26And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal.
27If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.' "
28The Lord said to Moses,
29"Say to the Israelites: 'Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as his sacrifice to the Lord .
30With his own hands he is to bring the offering made to the Lord by fire; he is to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.
31The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.
32You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.
33The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share.
34From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their regular share from the Israelites.' "
35This is the portion of the offerings made to the Lord by fire that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests.
36On the day they were anointed, the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their regular share for the generations to come.
37These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering,
38which the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord , in the Desert of Sinai.
8The Lord said to Moses,
2"Bring Aaron and his sons, their garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket containing bread made without yeast,
3and gather the entire assembly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."
4Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the assembly gathered at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
5Moses said to the assembly, "This is what the Lord has commanded to be done."
6Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.
7He put the tunic on Aaron, tied the sash around him, clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him. He also tied the ephod to him by its skillfully woven waistband; so it was fastened on him.
8He placed the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece.
9Then he placed the turban on Aaron's head and set the gold plate, the sacred diadem, on the front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.
10Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them.
11He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times, anointing the altar and all its utensils and the basin with its stand, to consecrate them.
12He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him.
13Then he brought Aaron's sons forward, put tunics on them, tied sashes around them and put headbands on them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
14He then presented the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
15Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make atonement for it.
16Moses also took all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and their fat, and burned it on the altar.
17But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the camp, as the Lord commanded Moses.
18He then presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
19Then Moses slaughtered the ram and sprinkled the blood against the altar on all sides.
20He cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, the pieces and the fat.
21He washed the inner parts and the legs with water and burned the whole ram on the altar as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire, as the Lord commanded Moses.
22He then presented the other ram, the ram for the ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
23Moses slaughtered the ram and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
24Moses also brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. Then he sprinkled blood against the altar on all sides.
25He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys and their fat and the right thigh.
26Then from the basket of bread made without yeast, which was before the Lord , he took a cake of bread, and one made with oil, and a wafer; he put these on the fat portions and on the right thigh.
27He put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and waved them before the Lord as a wave offering.
28Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.
29He also took the breast-Moses' share of the ordination ram-and waved it before the Lord as a wave offering, as the Lord commanded Moses.
30Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood from the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments.
31Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, "Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons are to eat it.'
32Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread.
33Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days.
34What has been done today was commanded by the Lord to make atonement for you.
35You must stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and do what the Lord requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded."
36So Aaron and his sons did everything the Lord commanded through Moses.
9On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.
2He said to Aaron, "Take a bull calf for your sin offering and a ram for your burnt offering, both without defect, and present them before the Lord .
3Then say to the Israelites: 'Take a male goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb-both a year old and without defect-for a burnt offering,
4and an ox and a ram for a fellowship offering to sacrifice before the Lord , together with a grain offering mixed with oil. For today the Lord will appear to you.' "
5They took the things Moses commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the entire assembly came near and stood before the Lord .
6Then Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you."
7Moses said to Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded."
8So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself.
9His sons brought the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar.
10On the altar he burned the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver from the sin offering, as the Lord commanded Moses;
11the flesh and the hide he burned up outside the camp.
12Then he slaughtered the burnt offering. His sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the altar on all sides.
13They handed him the burnt offering piece by piece, including the head, and he burned them on the altar.
14He washed the inner parts and the legs and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar.
15Aaron then brought the offering that was for the people. He took the goat for the people's sin offering and slaughtered it and offered it for a sin offering as he did with the first one.
16He brought the burnt offering and offered it in the prescribed way.
17He also brought the grain offering, took a handful of it and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning's burnt offering.
18He slaughtered the ox and the ram as the fellowship offering for the people. His sons handed him the blood, and he sprinkled it against the altar on all sides.
19But the fat portions of the ox and the ram-the fat tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver-
20these they laid on the breasts, and then Aaron burned the fat on the altar.
21Aaron waved the breasts and the right thigh before the Lord as a wave offering, as Moses commanded.
22Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down.
23Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
24Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.
10Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord , contrary to his command.
2So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord .
3Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: " 'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.' " Aaron remained silent.
4Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary."
5So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire.
7Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord 's anointing oil is on you." So they did as Moses said.
8Then the Lord said to Aaron,
9"You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
10You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,
11and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses."
12Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to the Lord by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy.
13Eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons' share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire; for so I have been commanded.
14But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites' fellowship offerings.
15The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by fire, to be waved before the Lord as a wave offering. This will be the regular share for you and your children, as the Lord has commanded."
16When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's remaining sons, and asked,
17"Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the Lord .
18Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded."
19Aaron replied to Moses, "Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord , but such things as this have happened to me. Would the Lord have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?"
20When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.
11The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
2"Say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:
3You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.
4" 'There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you.
5The coney, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you.
6The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you.
7And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
8You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
9" 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales.
10But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales-whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water-you are to detest.
11And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses.
12Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.
13" 'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
14the red kite, any kind of black kite,
15any kind of raven,
16the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
17the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
18the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,
19the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
20" 'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you.
21There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground.
22Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper.
23But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest.
24" 'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.
25Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.
26" 'Every animal that has a split hoof not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean.
27Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.
28Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. They are unclean for you.
29" 'Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard,
30the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon.
31Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening.
32When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean.
33If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.
34Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean.
35Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean.
36A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean.
37If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean.
38But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39" 'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean till evening.
40Anyone who eats some of the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.
41" 'Every creature that moves about on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten.
42You are not to eat any creature that moves about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable.
43Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them.
44I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground.
45I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
46" 'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on the ground.
47You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.' "
12The Lord said to Moses,
2"Say to the Israelites: 'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.
3On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.
4Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.
5If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.
6" 'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.
7He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. " 'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl.
8If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.' "
13The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
2"When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest.
3The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean.
4If the spot on his skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for seven days.
5On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to keep him in isolation another seven days.
6On the seventh day the priest is to examine him again, and if the sore has faded and has not spread in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a rash. The man must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.
7But if the rash does spread in his skin after he has shown himself to the priest to be pronounced clean, he must appear before the priest again.
8The priest is to examine him, and if the rash has spread in the skin, he shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious disease.
9"When anyone has an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to the priest.
10The priest is to examine him, and if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white and if there is raw flesh in the swelling,
11it is a chronic skin disease and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He is not to put him in isolation, because he is already unclean.
12"If the disease breaks out all over his skin and, so far as the priest can see, it covers all the skin of the infected person from head to foot,
13the priest is to examine him, and if the disease has covered his whole body, he shall pronounce that person clean. Since it has all turned white, he is clean.
14But whenever raw flesh appears on him, he will be unclean.
15When the priest sees the raw flesh, he shall pronounce him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; he has an infectious disease.
16Should the raw flesh change and turn white, he must go to the priest.
17The priest is to examine him, and if the sores have turned white, the priest shall pronounce the infected person clean; then he will be clean.
18"When someone has a boil on his skin and it heals,
19and in the place where the boil was, a white swelling or reddish-white spot appears, he must present himself to the priest.
20The priest is to examine it, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease that has broken out where the boil was.
21But if, when the priest examines it, there is no white hair in it and it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to put him in isolation for seven days.
22If it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is infectious.
23But if the spot is unchanged and has not spread, it is only a scar from the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24"When someone has a burn on his skin and a reddish-white or white spot appears in the raw flesh of the burn,
25the priest is to examine the spot, and if the hair in it has turned white, and it appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious disease that has broken out in the burn. The priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease.
26But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot and if it is not more than skin deep and has faded, then the priest is to put him in isolation for seven days.
27On the seventh day the priest is to examine him, and if it is spreading in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is an infectious skin disease.
28If, however, the spot is unchanged and has not spread in the skin but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scar from the burn.
29"If a man or woman has a sore on the head or on the chin,
30the priest is to examine the sore, and if it appears to be more than skin deep and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest shall pronounce that person unclean; it is an itch, an infectious disease of the head or chin.
31But if, when the priest examines this kind of sore, it does not seem to be more than skin deep and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to put the infected person in isolation for seven days.
32On the seventh day the priest is to examine the sore, and if the itch has not spread and there is no yellow hair in it and it does not appear to be more than skin deep,
33he must be shaved except for the diseased area, and the priest is to keep him in isolation another seven days.
34On the seventh day the priest is to examine the itch, and if it has not spread in the skin and appears to be no more than skin deep, the priest shall pronounce him clean. He must wash his clothes, and he will be clean.
35But if the itch does spread in the skin after he is pronounced clean,
36the priest is to examine him, and if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest does not need to look for yellow hair; the person is unclean.
37If, however, in his judgment it is unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the itch is healed. He is clean, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
38"When a man or woman has white spots on the skin,
39the priest is to examine them, and if the spots are dull white, it is a harmless rash that has broken out on the skin; that person is clean.
40"When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean.
41If he has lost his hair from the front of his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean.
42But if he has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is an infectious disease breaking out on his head or forehead.
43The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin disease,
44the man is diseased and is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.
45"The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'
46As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.
47"If any clothing is contaminated with mildew-any woolen or linen clothing,
48any woven or knitted material of linen or wool, any leather or anything made of leather-
49and if the contamination in the clothing, or leather, or woven or knitted material, or any leather article, is greenish or reddish, it is a spreading mildew and must be shown to the priest.
50The priest is to examine the mildew and isolate the affected article for seven days.
51On the seventh day he is to examine it, and if the mildew has spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather, whatever its use, it is a destructive mildew; the article is unclean.
52He must burn up the clothing, or the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or any leather article that has the contamination in it, because the mildew is destructive; the article must be burned up.
53"But if, when the priest examines it, the mildew has not spread in the clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather article,
54he shall order that the contaminated article be washed. Then he is to isolate it for another seven days.
55After the affected article has been washed, the priest is to examine it, and if the mildew has not changed its appearance, even though it has not spread, it is unclean. Burn it with fire, whether the mildew has affected one side or the other.
56If, when the priest examines it, the mildew has faded after the article has been washed, he is to tear the contaminated part out of the clothing, or the leather, or the woven or knitted material.
57But if it reappears in the clothing, or in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather article, it is spreading, and whatever has the mildew must be burned with fire.
58The clothing, or the woven or knitted material, or any leather article that has been washed and is rid of the mildew, must be washed again, and it will be clean."
59These are the regulations concerning contamination by mildew in woolen or linen clothing, woven or knitted material, or any leather article, for pronouncing them clean or unclean.
14The Lord said to Moses,
2"These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest:
3The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease,
4the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed.
5Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot.
6He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.
7Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields.
8"The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. After this he may come into the camp, but he must stay outside his tent for seven days.
9On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair; he must shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.
10"On the eighth day he must bring two male lambs and one ewe lamb a year old, each without defect, along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and one log of oil.
11The priest who pronounces him clean shall present both the one to be cleansed and his offerings before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
12"Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil; he shall wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.
13He is to slaughter the lamb in the holy place where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest; it is most holy.
14The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
15The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand,
16dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the Lord seven times.
17The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.
18The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for him before the Lord .
19"Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering
20and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for him, and he will be clean.
21"If, however, he is poor and cannot afford these, he must take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, together with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, a log of oil,
22and two doves or two young pigeons, which he can afford, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.
23"On the eighth day he must bring them for his cleansing to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, before the Lord .
24The priest is to take the lamb for the guilt offering, together with the log of oil, and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.
25He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
26The priest is to pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand,
27and with his right forefinger sprinkle some of the oil from his palm seven times before the Lord .
28Some of the oil in his palm he is to put on the same places he put the blood of the guilt offering-on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
29The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord .
30Then he shall sacrifice the doves or the young pigeons, which the person can afford,
31one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, together with the grain offering. In this way the priest will make atonement before the Lord on behalf of the one to be cleansed."
32These are the regulations for anyone who has an infectious skin disease and who cannot afford the regular offerings for his cleansing.
33The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
34"When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land,
35the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, 'I have seen something that looks like mildew in my house.'
36The priest is to order the house to be emptied before he goes in to examine the mildew, so that nothing in the house will be pronounced unclean. After this the priest is to go in and inspect the house.
37He is to examine the mildew on the walls, and if it has greenish or reddish depressions that appear to be deeper than the surface of the wall,
38the priest shall go out the doorway of the house and close it up for seven days.
39On the seventh day the priest shall return to inspect the house. If the mildew has spread on the walls,
40he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place outside the town.
41He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.
42Then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.
43"If the mildew reappears in the house after the stones have been torn out and the house scraped and plastered,
44the priest is to go and examine it and, if the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean.
45It must be torn down-its stones, timbers and all the plaster-and taken out of the town to an unclean place.
46"Anyone who goes into the house while it is closed up will be unclean till evening.
47Anyone who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes.
48"But if the priest comes to examine it and the mildew has not spread after the house has been plastered, he shall pronounce the house clean, because the mildew is gone.
49To purify the house he is to take two birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop.
50He shall kill one of the birds over fresh water in a clay pot.
51Then he is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet yarn and the live bird, dip them into the blood of the dead bird and the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
52He shall purify the house with the bird's blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn.
53Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields outside the town. In this way he will make atonement for the house, and it will be clean."
54These are the regulations for any infectious skin disease, for an itch,
55for mildew in clothing or in a house,
56and for a swelling, a rash or a bright spot,
57to determine when something is clean or unclean. These are the regulations for infectious skin diseases and mildew.
15The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
3Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:
4" 'Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean.
5Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
6Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
7" 'Whoever touches the man who has a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
8" 'If the man with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
9" 'Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean,
10and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
11" 'Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
12" 'A clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article is to be rinsed with water.
13" 'When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean.
14On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the Lord to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest.
15The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before the Lord for the man because of his discharge.
16" 'When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
17Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening.
18When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.
19" 'When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
20" 'Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean.
21Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
22Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
23Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening.
24" 'If a man lies with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
25" 'When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period.
26Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period.
27Whoever touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
28" 'When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean.
29On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
30The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the Lord for the uncleanness of her discharge.
31" 'You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them.' "
32These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen,
33for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who lies with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.
16The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord .
2The Lord said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
3"This is how Aaron is to enter the sanctuary area: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
4He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.
5From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
6"Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.
7Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
8He is to cast lots for the two goats-one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.
9Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.
10But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.
11"Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering.
12He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain.
13He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord , and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die.
14He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
15"He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it.
16In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
17No one is to be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
18"Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.
19He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
20"When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.
21He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites-all their sins-and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task.
22The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.
23"Then Aaron is to go into the Tent of Meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there.
24He shall bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people.
25He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26"The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
27The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up.
28The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
29"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work-whether native-born or an alien living among you-
30because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord , you will be clean from all your sins.
31It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.
32The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments
33and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the community.
34"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites." And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.
17The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: 'This is what the Lord has commanded:
3Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it
4instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord in front of the tabernacle of the Lord -that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people.
5This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord , at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.
6The priest is to sprinkle the blood against the altar of the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
7They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.'
8"Say to them: 'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice
9and does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord -that man must be cut off from his people.
10" 'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood-I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people.
11For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
12Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."
13" 'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth,
14because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."
15" 'Anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean.
16But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will be held responsible.' "
18The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the Lord your God.
3You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.
4You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.
5Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord .
6" 'No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord .
7" 'Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8" 'Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.
9" 'Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
10" 'Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you.
11" 'Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
12" 'Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.
13" 'Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative.
14" 'Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
15" 'Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her.
16" 'Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother.
17" 'Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
18" 'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
19" 'Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
20" 'Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.
21" 'Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord .
22" 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
23" 'Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
24" 'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
25Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.
26But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things,
27for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled.
28And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
29" 'Everyone who does any of these detestable things-such persons must be cut off from their people.
30Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.' "
19The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3" 'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4" 'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5" 'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord , sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
6It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.
7If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.
8Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the Lord ; that person must be cut off from his people.
9" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.
11" 'Do not steal. " 'Do not lie. " 'Do not deceive one another.
12" 'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord .
13" 'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. " 'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
14" 'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord .
15" 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
16" 'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. " 'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the Lord .
17" 'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
18" 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord .
19" 'Keep my decrees. " 'Do not mate different kinds of animals. " 'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. " 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
20" 'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.
21The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord .
22With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.
23" 'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden ; it must not be eaten.
24In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord .
25But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.
26" 'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. " 'Do not practice divination or sorcery.
27" 'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
28" 'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord .
29" 'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
30" 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord .
31" 'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
32" 'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord .
33" 'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.
34The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35" 'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.
36Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
37" 'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord .' "
20The Lord said to Moses,
2"Say to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him.
3I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.
4If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death,
5I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
6" 'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.
7" 'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.
8Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord , who makes you holy.
9" 'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.
10" 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife-with the wife of his neighbor-both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
11" 'If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
12" 'If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.
13" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
14" 'If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.
15" 'If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
16" 'If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
17" 'If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.
18" 'If a man lies with a woman during her monthly period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them must be cut off from their people.
19" 'Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.
20" 'If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.
21" 'If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.
22" 'Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.
23You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them.
24But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.
25" 'You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground-those which I have set apart as unclean for you.
26You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord , am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
27" 'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' "
21The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: 'A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die,
2except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother,
3or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband-for her he may make himself unclean.
4He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself.
5" 'Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.
6They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the offerings made to the Lord by fire, the food of their God, they are to be holy.
7" 'They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God.
8Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy-I who make you holy.
9" 'If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.
10" 'The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes.
11He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother,
12nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord .
13" 'The woman he marries must be a virgin.
14He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people,
15so he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord , who makes him holy. ' "
16The Lord said to Moses,
17"Say to Aaron: 'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God.
18No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed;
19no man with a crippled foot or hand,
20or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.
21No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the Lord by fire. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.
22He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food;
23yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord , who makes them holy. ' "
24So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
22The Lord said to Moses,
2"Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord .
3"Say to them: 'For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord , that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord .
4" 'If a descendant of Aaron has an infectious skin disease or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen,
5or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be.
6The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water.
7When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.
8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the Lord .
9" 'The priests are to keep my requirements so that they do not become guilty and die for treating them with contempt. I am the Lord , who makes them holy.
10" 'No one outside a priest's family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it.
11But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.
12If a priest's daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions.
13But if a priest's daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father's house as in her youth, she may eat of her father's food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat any of it.
14" 'If anyone eats a sacred offering by mistake, he must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it.
15The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings the Israelites present to the Lord
16by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt requiring payment. I am the Lord , who makes them holy.' "
17The Lord said to Moses,
18"Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: 'If any of you-either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel-presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord , either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,
19you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.
20Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
21When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable.
22Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as an offering made to the Lord by fire.
23You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow.
24You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. You must not do this in your own land,
25and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.' "
26The Lord said to Moses,
27"When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as an offering made to the Lord by fire.
28Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day.
29"When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord , sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
30It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the Lord .
31"Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord .
32Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord , who makes you holy
33and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord ."
23The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord , which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
3" 'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord .
4" 'These are the Lord 's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:
5The Lord 's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
6On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord 's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast.
7On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
8For seven days present an offering made to the Lord by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.' "
9The Lord said to Moses,
10"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.
11He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.
12On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect,
13together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil-an offering made to the Lord by fire, a pleasing aroma-and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine.
14You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
15" 'From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.
16Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord .
17From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord .
18Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord , together with their grain offerings and drink offerings-an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
19Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering.
20The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest.
21On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
22" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.' "
23The Lord said to Moses,
24"Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.
25Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.' "
26The Lord said to Moses,
27"The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.
28Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.
29Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people.
30I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day.
31You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
32It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
33The Lord said to Moses,
34"Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord 's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.
35The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work.
36For seven days present offerings made to the Lord by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the Lord by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.
37(" 'These are the Lord 's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the Lord by fire-the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day.
38These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord 's Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord .)
39" 'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest.
40On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.
41Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month.
42Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths
43so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.' "
44So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the Lord .
24The Lord said to Moses,
2"Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.
3Outside the curtain of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
4The lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord must be tended continually.
5"Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf.
6Set them in two rows, six in each row, on the table of pure gold before the Lord .
7Along each row put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be an offering made to the Lord by fire.
8This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant.
9It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy part of their regular share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire." A Blasphemer Stoned
10Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.
11The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)
12They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.
13Then the Lord said to Moses:
14"Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.
15Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible;
16anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
17" 'If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death.
18Anyone who takes the life of someone's animal must make restitution-life for life.
19If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him:
20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.
21Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death.
22You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.' "
23Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.
25The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord .
3For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.
4But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord . Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.
5Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.
6Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you-for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you,
7as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.
8" 'Count off seven sabbaths of years-seven times seven years-so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
9Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.
10Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.
11The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.
12For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
13" 'In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property.
14" 'If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him, do not take advantage of each other.
15You are to buy from your countryman on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops.
16When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what he is really selling you is the number of crops.
17Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the Lord your God.
18" 'Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land.
19Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.
20You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?"
21I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.
22While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
23" 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.
24Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
25" 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold.
26If, however, a man has no one to redeem it for him but he himself prospers and acquires sufficient means to redeem it,
27he is to determine the value for the years since he sold it and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back to his own property.
28But if he does not acquire the means to repay him, what he sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and he can then go back to his property.
29" 'If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time he may redeem it.
30If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and his descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee.
31But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.
32" 'The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess.
33So the property of the Levites is redeemable-that is, a house sold in any town they hold-and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites.
34But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.
35" 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.
36Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you.
37You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit.
38I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
39" 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave.
40He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.
41Then he and his children are to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property of his forefathers.
42Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves.
43Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
44" 'Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
45You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.
46You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
47" 'If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan,
48he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him:
49An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
50He and his buyer are to count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for his release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired man for that number of years.
51If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption a larger share of the price paid for him.
52If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to compute that and pay for his redemption accordingly.
53He is to be treated as a man hired from year to year; you must see to it that his owner does not rule over him ruthlessly.
54" 'Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee,
55for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
26" 'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.
2" 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord .
3" 'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,
4I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit.
5Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.
6" 'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.
7You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.
8Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
9" 'I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.
10You will still be eating last year's harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.
11I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you.
12I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
13I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
14" 'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,
15and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,
16then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.
17I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.
18" 'If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.
19I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.
20Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
21" 'If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.
22I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.
23" 'If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me,
24I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over.
25And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands.
26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.
27" 'If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me,
28then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.
29You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.
30I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you.
31I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.
32I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.
33I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.
34Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
35All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.
36" 'As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.
37They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.
38You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.
39Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers' sins they will waste away.
40" 'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers-their treachery against me and their hostility toward me,
41which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies-then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,
42I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
43For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees.
44Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God.
45But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord .' "
46These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses.
27The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate persons to the Lord by giving equivalent values,
3set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel ;
4and if it is a female, set her value at thirty shekels.
5If it is a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels.
6If it is a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver.
7If it is a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.
8If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, he is to present the person to the priest, who will set the value for him according to what the man making the vow can afford.
9" 'If what he vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord , such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.
10He must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if he should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy.
11If what he vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal-one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord -the animal must be presented to the priest,
12who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be.
13If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value.
14" 'If a man dedicates his house as something holy to the Lord , the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain.
15If the man who dedicates his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become his.
16" 'If a man dedicates to the Lord part of his family land, its value is to be set according to the amount of seed required for it-fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed.
17If he dedicates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.
18But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced.
19If the man who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, he must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become his.
20If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed.
21When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the Lord ; it will become the property of the priests.
22" 'If a man dedicates to the Lord a field he has bought, which is not part of his family land,
23the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord .
24In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom he bought it, the one whose land it was.
25Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26" 'No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord ; whether an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord 's.
27If it is one of the unclean animals, he may buy it back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to it. If he does not redeem it, it is to be sold at its set value.
28" 'But nothing that a man owns and devotes to the Lord -whether man or animal or family land-may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord .
29" 'No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; he must be put to death.
30" 'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord ; it is holy to the Lord .
31If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it.
32The entire tithe of the herd and flock-every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod-will be holy to the Lord .
33He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.' "
34These are the commands the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.

Numbers

1The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:
2"Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one.
3You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army.
4One man from each tribe, each the head of his family, is to help you.
5These are the names of the men who are to assist you: from Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;
6from Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;
7from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
8from Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;
9from Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;
10from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
11from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;
12from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;
13from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran;
14from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;
15from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan."
16These were the men appointed from the community, the leaders of their ancestral tribes. They were the heads of the clans of Israel.
17Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been given,
18and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people indicated their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one,
19as the Lord commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai:
20From the descendants of Reuben the firstborn son of Israel: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families.
21The number from the tribe of Reuben was 46,500.
22From the descendants of Simeon: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were counted and listed by name, one by one, according to the records of their clans and families.
23The number from the tribe of Simeon was 59,300.
24From the descendants of Gad: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
25The number from the tribe of Gad was 45,650.
26From the descendants of Judah: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
27The number from the tribe of Judah was 74,600.
28From the descendants of Issachar: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
29The number from the tribe of Issachar was 54,400.
30From the descendants of Zebulun: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
31The number from the tribe of Zebulun was 57,400.
32From the sons of Joseph: From the descendants of Ephraim: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
33The number from the tribe of Ephraim was 40,500.
34From the descendants of Manasseh: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
35The number from the tribe of Manasseh was 32,200.
36From the descendants of Benjamin: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
37The number from the tribe of Benjamin was 35,400.
38From the descendants of Dan: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
39The number from the tribe of Dan was 62,700.
40From the descendants of Asher: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
41The number from the tribe of Asher was 41,500.
42From the descendants of Naphtali: All the men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army were listed by name, according to the records of their clans and families.
43The number from the tribe of Naphtali was 53,400.
44These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family.
45All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families.
46The total number was 603,550.
47The families of the tribe of Levi, however, were not counted along with the others.
48The Lord had said to Moses:
49"You must not count the tribe of Levi or include them in the census of the other Israelites.
50Instead, appoint the Levites to be in charge of the tabernacle of the Testimony-over all its furnishings and everything belonging to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings; they are to take care of it and encamp around it.
51Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites are to take it down, and whenever the tabernacle is to be set up, the Levites shall do it. Anyone else who goes near it shall be put to death.
52The Israelites are to set up their tents by divisions, each man in his own camp under his own standard.
53The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the Testimony."
54The Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses.
2The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
2"The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family."
3On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.
4His division numbers 74,600.
5The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar.
6His division numbers 54,400.
7The tribe of Zebulun will be next. The leader of the people of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon.
8His division numbers 57,400.
9All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.
10On the south will be the divisions of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.
11His division numbers 46,500.
12The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
13His division numbers 59,300.
14The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the people of Gad is Eliasaph son of Deuel.
15His division numbers 45,650.
16All the men assigned to the camp of Reuben, according to their divisions, number 151,450. They will set out second.
17Then the Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites will set out in the middle of the camps. They will set out in the same order as they encamp, each in his own place under his standard.
18On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.
19His division numbers 40,500.
20The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
21His division numbers 32,200.
22The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.
23His division numbers 35,400.
24All the men assigned to the camp of Ephraim, according to their divisions, number 108,100. They will set out third.
25On the north will be the divisions of the camp of Dan, under their standard. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
26His division numbers 62,700.
27The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran.
28His division numbers 41,500.
29The tribe of Naphtali will be next. The leader of the people of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan.
30His division numbers 53,400.
31All the men assigned to the camp of Dan number 157,600. They will set out last, under their standards.
32These are the Israelites, counted according to their families. All those in the camps, by their divisions, number 603,550.
33The Levites, however, were not counted along with the other Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.
34So the Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each with his clan and family.
3This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.
2The names of the sons of Aaron were Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
3Those were the names of Aaron's sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests.
4Nadab and Abihu, however, fell dead before the Lord when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.
5The Lord said to Moses,
6"Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.
7They are to perform duties for him and for the whole community at the Tent of Meeting by doing the work of the tabernacle.
8They are to take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle.
9Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.
10Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death."
11The Lord also said to Moses,
12"I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,
13for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the Lord ."
14The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai,
15"Count the Levites by their families and clans. Count every male a month old or more."
16So Moses counted them, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord .
17These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
18These were the names of the Gershonite clans: Libni and Shimei.
19The Kohathite clans: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
20The Merarite clans: Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans, according to their families.
21To Gershon belonged the clans of the Libnites and Shimeites; these were the Gershonite clans.
22The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 7,500.
23The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle.
24The leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael.
25At the Tent of Meeting the Gershonites were responsible for the care of the tabernacle and tent, its coverings, the curtain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
26the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, and the ropes-and everything related to their use.
27To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites; these were the Kohathite clans.
28The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. The Kohathites were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
29The Kohathite clans were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle.
30The leader of the families of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel.
31They were responsible for the care of the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain, and everything related to their use.
32The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He was appointed over those who were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.
33To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.
34The number of all the males a month old or more who were counted was 6,200.
35The leader of the families of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle.
36The Merarites were appointed to take care of the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and everything related to their use,
37as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.
38Moses and Aaron and his sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, in front of the Tent of Meeting. They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
39The total number of Levites counted at the Lord 's command by Moses and Aaron according to their clans, including every male a month old or more, was 22,000.
40The Lord said to Moses, "Count all the firstborn Israelite males who are a month old or more and make a list of their names.
41Take the Levites for me in place of all the firstborn of the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites. I am the Lord ."
42So Moses counted all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him.
43The total number of firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273.
44The Lord also said to Moses,
45"Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites are to be mine. I am the Lord .
46To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites,
47collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.
48Give the money for the redemption of the additional Israelites to Aaron and his sons."
49So Moses collected the redemption money from those who exceeded the number redeemed by the Levites.
50From the firstborn of the Israelites he collected silver weighing 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
51Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the Lord .
4The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
2"Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families.
3Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting.
4"This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting: the care of the most holy things.
5When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and cover the ark of the Testimony with it.
6Then they are to cover this with hides of sea cows, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.
7"Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it.
8Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth, cover that with hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
9"They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the oil used to supply it.
10Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of hides of sea cows and put it on a carrying frame.
11"Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
12"They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with hides of sea cows and put them on a carrying frame.
13"They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it.
14Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of hides of sea cows and put its poles in place.
15"After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.
16"Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles."
17The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
18"See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not cut off from the Levites.
19So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry.
20But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die."
21The Lord said to Moses,
22"Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans.
23Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
24"This is the service of the Gershonite clans as they work and carry burdens:
25They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the outer covering of hides of sea cows, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
26the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance, the ropes and all the equipment used in its service. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things.
27All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry.
28This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the Tent of Meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
29"Count the Merarites by their clans and families.
30Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
31This is their duty as they perform service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases,
32as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry.
33This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest."
34Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families.
35All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting,
36counted by clans, were 2,750.
37This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served in the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord 's command through Moses.
38The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families.
39All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting,
40counted by their clans and families, were 2,630.
41This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord 's command.
42The Merarites were counted by their clans and families.
43All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting,
44counted by their clans, were 3,200.
45This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord 's command through Moses.
46So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families.
47All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting
48numbered 8,580.
49At the Lord 's command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry. Thus they were counted, as the Lord commanded Moses.
5The Lord said to Moses,
2"Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.
3Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them."
4The Israelites did this; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
5The Lord said to Moses,
6"Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord , that person is guilty
7and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged.
8But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.
9All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.
10Each man's sacred gifts are his own, but what he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.' "
11Then the Lord said to Moses,
12"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him
13by sleeping with another man, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act),
14and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure-or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure-
15then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to guilt.
16" 'The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord .
17Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.
18After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord , he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.
19Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, "If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.
20But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband"-
21here the priest is to put the woman under this curse of the oath-"may the Lord cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell.
22May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away. " " 'Then the woman is to say, "Amen. So be it."
23" 'The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.
24He shall have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering.
25The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord and bring it to the altar.
26The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water.
27If she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then when she is made to drink the water that brings a curse, it will go into her and cause bitter suffering; her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away, and she will become accursed among her people.
28If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is free from impurity, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.
29" 'This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and defiles herself while married to her husband,
30or when feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the Lord and is to apply this entire law to her.
31The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.' "
6The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite,
3he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
4As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5" 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long.
6Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a dead body.
7Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head.
8Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the Lord .
9" 'If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing-the seventh day.
10Then on the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
11The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head.
12He must dedicate himself to the Lord for the period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation.
13" 'Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
14There he is to present his offerings to the Lord : a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering,
15together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without yeast-cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.
16" 'The priest is to present them before the Lord and make the sin offering and the burnt offering.
17He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord , together with its grain offering and drink offering.
18" 'Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.
19" 'After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair of his dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without yeast.
20The priest shall then wave them before the Lord as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
21" 'This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to the law of the Nazirite.' "
22The Lord said to Moses,
23"Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24" ' "The Lord bless you and keep you;
25the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." '
27"So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
7When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils.
2Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families who were the tribal leaders in charge of those who were counted, made offerings.
3They brought as their gifts before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen-an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle.
4The Lord said to Moses,
5"Accept these from them, that they may be used in the work at the Tent of Meeting. Give them to the Levites as each man's work requires."
6So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites.
7He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their work required,
8and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their work required. They were all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
9But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.
10When the altar was anointed, the leaders brought their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar.
11For the Lord had said to Moses, "Each day one leader is to bring his offering for the dedication of the altar."
12The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah.
13His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
14one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
15one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
16one male goat for a sin offering;
17and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.
18On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar, the leader of Issachar, brought his offering.
19The offering he brought was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
20one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
21one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
22one male goat for a sin offering;
23and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.
24On the third day, Eliab son of Helon, the leader of the people of Zebulun, brought his offering.
25His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
26one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
27one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
28one male goat for a sin offering;
29and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.
30On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur, the leader of the people of Reuben, brought his offering.
31His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
32one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
33one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
34one male goat for a sin offering;
35and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.
36On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai, the leader of the people of Simeon, brought his offering.
37His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
38one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
39one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
40one male goat for a sin offering;
41and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.
42On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel, the leader of the people of Gad, brought his offering.
43His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
44one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
45one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
46one male goat for a sin offering;
47and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.
48On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the people of Ephraim, brought his offering.
49His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
50one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
51one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
52one male goat for a sin offering;
53and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.
54On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the people of Manasseh, brought his offering.
55His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
56one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
57one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
58one male goat for a sin offering;
59and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.
60On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni, the leader of the people of Benjamin, brought his offering.
61His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
62one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
63one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
64one male goat for a sin offering;
65and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.
66On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai, the leader of the people of Dan, brought his offering.
67His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
68one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
69one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
70one male goat for a sin offering;
71and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
72On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the people of Asher, brought his offering.
73His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
74one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
75one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
76one male goat for a sin offering;
77and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Pagiel son of Ocran.
78On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan, the leader of the people of Naphtali, brought his offering.
79His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering;
80one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense;
81one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;
82one male goat for a sin offering;
83and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.
84These were the offerings of the Israelite leaders for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver plates, twelve silver sprinkling bowls and twelve gold dishes.
85Each silver plate weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each sprinkling bowl seventy shekels. Altogether, the silver dishes weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
86The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. Altogether, the gold dishes weighed a hundred and twenty shekels.
87The total number of animals for the burnt offering came to twelve young bulls, twelve rams and twelve male lambs a year old, together with their grain offering. Twelve male goats were used for the sin offering.
88The total number of animals for the sacrifice of the fellowship offering came to twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty male goats and sixty male lambs a year old. These were the offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.
89When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord , he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with him.
8The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you set up the seven lamps, they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.' "
3Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
4This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold-from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.
5The Lord said to Moses:
6"Take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean.
7To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
8Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering.
9Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community.
10You are to bring the Levites before the Lord , and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them.
11Aaron is to present the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord .
12"After the Levites lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, use the one for a sin offering to the Lord and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites.
13Have the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons and then present them as a wave offering to the Lord .
14In this way you are to set the Levites apart from the other Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.
15"After you have purified the Levites and presented them as a wave offering, they are to come to do their work at the Tent of Meeting.
16They are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to me. I have taken them as my own in place of the firstborn, the first male offspring from every Israelite woman.
17Every firstborn male in Israel, whether man or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself.
18And I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn sons in Israel.
19Of all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary."
20Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.
21The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord and made atonement for them to purify them.
22After that, the Levites came to do their work at the Tent of Meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. They did with the Levites just as the Lord commanded Moses.
23The Lord said to Moses,
24"This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting,
25but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer.
26They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites."
9The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said,
2"Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time.
3Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations."
4So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover,
5and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.
6But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day
7and said to Moses, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord 's offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?"
8Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you."
9Then the Lord said to Moses,
10"Tell the Israelites: 'When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the Lord 's Passover.
11They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.
13But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the Lord 's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.
14" 'An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord 's Passover must do so in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for the alien and the native-born.' "
15On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
16That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
17Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.
18At the Lord 's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
19When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord 's order and did not set out.
20Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord 's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.
21Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.
22Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
23At the Lord 's command they encamped, and at the Lord 's command they set out. They obeyed the Lord 's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
10The Lord said to Moses:
2"Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out.
3When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
4If only one is sounded, the leaders-the heads of the clans of Israel-are to assemble before you.
5When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out.
6At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out.
7To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the same signal.
8"The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come.
9When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies.
10Also at your times of rejoicing-your appointed feasts and New Moon festivals-you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God."
11On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony.
12Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.
13They set out, this first time, at the Lord 's command through Moses.
14The divisions of the camp of Judah went first, under their standard. Nahshon son of Amminadab was in command.
15Nethanel son of Zuar was over the division of the tribe of Issachar,
16and Eliab son of Helon was over the division of the tribe of Zebulun.
17Then the tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, set out.
18The divisions of the camp of Reuben went next, under their standard. Elizur son of Shedeur was in command.
19Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was over the division of the tribe of Simeon,
20and Eliasaph son of Deuel was over the division of the tribe of Gad.
21Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.
22The divisions of the camp of Ephraim went next, under their standard. Elishama son of Ammihud was in command.
23Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh,
24and Abidan son of Gideoni was over the division of the tribe of Benjamin.
25Finally, as the rear guard for all the units, the divisions of the camp of Dan set out, under their standard. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was in command.
26Pagiel son of Ocran was over the division of the tribe of Asher,
27and Ahira son of Enan was over the division of the tribe of Naphtali.
28This was the order of march for the Israelite divisions as they set out.
29Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel."
30He answered, "No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people."
31But Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes.
32If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord gives us."
33So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest.
34The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, "Rise up, O Lord ! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you."
36Whenever it came to rest, he said, "Return, O Lord , to the countless thousands of Israel."
11Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord , and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
2When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.
3So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them. Quail From the Lord
4The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat!
5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost-also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.
6But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"
7The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin.
8The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil.
9When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.
10Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.
11He asked the Lord , "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?
12Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?
13Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!'
14I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.
15If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I have found favor in your eyes-and do not let me face my own ruin."
16The Lord said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you.
17I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.
18"Tell the people: 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, "If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it.
19You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days,
20but for a whole month-until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it-because you have rejected the Lord , who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?" ' "
21But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!'
22Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?"
23The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord 's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you."
24So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent.
25Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.
26However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.
27A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
28Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"
29But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord 's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!"
30Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day's walk in any direction.
32All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp.
33But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.
34Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
12Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite.
2"Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the Lord heard this.
3(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out.
5Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward,
6he said, "Listen to my words: "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.
7But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house.
8With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord . Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"
9The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.
10When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam-leprous, like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy;
11and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.
12Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away."
13So Moses cried out to the Lord , "O God, please heal her!"
14The Lord replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back."
15So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
13The Lord said to Moses,
2"Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."
3So at the Lord 's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
4These are their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur;
5from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;
6from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
7from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;
8from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;
9from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;
10from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;
11from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;
12from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;
13from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;
14from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;
15from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.
16These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)
17When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country.
18See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.
19What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?
20How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.
22They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)
23When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs.
24That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.
25At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
26They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.
27They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.
28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
29The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."
30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."
31But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."
32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.
33We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
14That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.
2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!
3Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"
4And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
5Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.
6Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes
7and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.
8If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
9Only do not rebel against the Lord . And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them."
10But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.
11The Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?
12I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."
13Moses said to the Lord , "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them.
14And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O Lord , are with these people and that you, O Lord , have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
15If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say,
16'The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.'
17"Now may the Lord's strength be displayed, just as you have declared:
18'The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'
19In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."
20The Lord replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked.
21Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth,
22not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times-
23not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
24But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
25Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea. "
26The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
27"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.
28So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Lord , I will do to you the very things I heard you say:
29In this desert your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.
30Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
31As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.
32But you-your bodies will fall in this desert.
33Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert.
34For forty years-one year for each of the forty days you explored the land-you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.'
35I, the Lord , have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die."
36So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it-
37these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord .
38Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
39When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly.
40Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the Lord promised."
41But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the Lord 's command? This will not succeed!
42Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies,
43for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord , he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword."
44Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord 's covenant moved from the camp.
45Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
15The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'After you enter the land I am giving you as a home
3and you present to the Lord offerings made by fire, from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord -whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings-
4then the one who brings his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil.
5With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.
6" 'With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil,
7and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
8" 'When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the Lord ,
9bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil.
10Also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It will be an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
11Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner.
12Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.
13" 'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
14For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord , he must do exactly as you do.
15The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord :
16The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.' "
17The Lord said to Moses,
18"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land to which I am taking you
19and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord .
20Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor.
21Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.
22" 'Now if you unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses-
23any of the Lord 's commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come-
24and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord , along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.
25The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have brought to the Lord for their wrong an offering made by fire and a sin offering.
26The whole Israelite community and the aliens living among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.
27" 'But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.
28The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
29One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is a native-born Israelite or an alien.
30" 'But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord , and that person must be cut off from his people.
31Because he has despised the Lord 's word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.' "
32While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
33Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly,
34and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.
35Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp."
36So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.
37The Lord said to Moses,
38"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.
39You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord , that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.
40Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.
41I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.' "
16Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites-Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth-became insolent
2and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.
3They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord 's assembly?"
4When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5Then he said to Korah and all his followers: "In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him.
6You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers
7and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the Lord . The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!"
8Moses also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites!
9Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord 's tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?
10He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too.
11It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?"
12Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not come!
13Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us?
14Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!"
15Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord , "Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them."
16Moses said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow-you and they and Aaron.
17Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it-250 censers in all-and present it before the Lord . You and Aaron are to present your censers also."
18So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
19When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly.
20The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
21"Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."
22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"
23Then the Lord said to Moses,
24"Say to the assembly, 'Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.' "
25Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26He warned the assembly, "Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins."
27So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
28Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea:
29If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the Lord has not sent me.
30But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt."
31As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart
32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions.
33They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community.
34At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!"
35And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.
36The Lord said to Moses,
37"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to take the censers out of the smoldering remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy-
38the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites."
39So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar,
40as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord , or he would become like Korah and his followers.
41The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the Lord 's people," they said.
42But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.
43Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting,
44and the Lord said to Moses,
45"Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown.
46Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord ; the plague has started."
47So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them.
48He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.
49But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah.
50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for the plague had stopped.
17The Lord said to Moses,
2"Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.
3On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.
4Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you.
5The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites."
6So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them.
7Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony.
8The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
9Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord 's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff.
10The Lord said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die."
11Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.
12The Israelites said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost!
13Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?"
18The Lord said to Aaron, "You, your sons and your father's family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the priesthood.
2Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the Tent of the Testimony.
3They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the Tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.
4They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the Tent of Meeting-all the work at the Tent-and no one else may come near where you are.
5"You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.
6I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.
7But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death."
8Then the Lord said to Aaron, "I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share.
9You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.
10Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.
11"This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
12"I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest.
13All the land's firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
14"Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord is yours.
15The first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.
16When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.
17"But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
18Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours.
19Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring."
20The Lord said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.
21"I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting.
22From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.
23It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.
24Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord . That is why I said concerning them: 'They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.' "
25The Lord said to Moses,
26"Speak to the Levites and say to them: 'When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord 's offering.
27Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.
28In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord 's portion to Aaron the priest.
29You must present as the Lord 's portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.'
30"Say to the Levites: 'When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.
31You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the Tent of Meeting.
32By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.' "
19The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
2"This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.
3Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.
4Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.
5While he watches, the heifer is to be burned-its hide, flesh, blood and offal.
6The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.
7After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening.
8The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9"A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.
10The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the aliens living among them.
11"Whoever touches the dead body of anyone will be unclean for seven days.
12He must purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third and seventh days, he will not be clean.
13Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself defiles the Lord 's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.
14"This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days,
15and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.
16"Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17"For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.
18Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or someone who has been killed or someone who has died a natural death.
19The man who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify him. The person being cleansed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and that evening he will be clean.
20But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord . The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on him, and he is unclean.
21This is a lasting ordinance for them. "The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.
22Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening."
20In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
2Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.
3They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord !
4Why did you bring the Lord 's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here?
5Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"
6Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7The Lord said to Moses,
8"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
9So Moses took the staff from the Lord 's presence, just as he commanded him.
10He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?"
11Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."
13These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he showed himself holy among them.
14Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: "This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us.
15Our forefathers went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,
16but when we cried out to the Lord , he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. "Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.
17Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory."
18But Edom answered: "You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword."
19The Israelites replied: "We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot-nothing else."
20Again they answered: "You may not pass through." Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army.
21Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.
22The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.
23At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
24"Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.
25Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.
26Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there."
27Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community.
28Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain,
29and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, the entire house of Israel mourned for him thirty days.
21When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them.
2Then Israel made this vow to the Lord : "If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities."
3The Lord listened to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.
4They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;
5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"
6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
7The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
10The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.
11Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the desert that faces Moab toward the sunrise.
12From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.
13They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the desert extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says: "?Waheb in Suphah and the ravines, the Arnon
15and the slopes of the ravines that lead to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab."
16From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, "Gather the people together and I will give them water."
17Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! Sing about it,
18about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank- the nobles with scepters and staffs." Then they went from the desert to Mattanah,
19from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
20and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
21Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:
22"Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway until we have passed through your territory."
23But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel.
24Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified.
25Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements.
26Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.
27That is why the poets say: "Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt; let Sihon's city be restored.
28"Fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the citizens of Arnon's heights.
29Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He has given up his sons as fugitives and his daughters as captives to Sihon king of the Amorites.
30"But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed all the way to Dibon. We have demolished them as far as Nophah, which extends to Medeba."
31So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.
32After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there.
33Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.
34The Lord said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon."
35So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.
22Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.
2Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,
3and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.
4The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,
5sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land. Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.
6Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."
7The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.
8"Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer the Lord gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him.
9God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"
10Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message:
11'A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.' "
12But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."
13The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you."
14So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."
15Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first.
16They came to Balaam and said: "This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me,
17because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me."
18But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.
19Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the Lord will tell me."
20That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."
21Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
22But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.
24Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides.
25When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord , she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.
26Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.
27When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord , she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff.
28Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
29Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
30The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said.
31Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
32The angel of the Lord asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.
33The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."
34Balaam said to the angel of the Lord , "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back."
35The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory.
37Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"
38"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."
39Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.
40Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him.
41The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.
23Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
2Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
3Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.
4God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."
5The Lord put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
6So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab.
7Then Balaam uttered his oracle: "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he said, 'curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'
8How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?
9From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations.
10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!"
11Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"
12He answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?"
13Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me."
14So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."
16The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
17So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the Lord say?"
18Then he uttered his oracle: "Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor.
19God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?
20I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21"No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.
22God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.
23There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'
24The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims."
25Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"
26Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?"
27Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there."
28And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
29Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
30Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
24Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert.
2When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him
3and he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
4the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
5"How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!
6"Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord , like cedars beside the waters.
7Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. "Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.
8"God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.
9Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness-who dares to rouse them? "May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!"
10Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times.
11Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded."
12Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,
13'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord -and I must say only what the Lord says'?
14Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."
15Then he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
16the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
17"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
18Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong.
19A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city."
20Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last."
21Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle: "Your dwelling place is secure, your nest is set in a rock;
22yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive."
23Then he uttered his oracle: "Ah, who can live when God does this?
24Ships will come from the shores of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin."
25Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.
25While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women,
2who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods.
3So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord 's anger burned against them.
4The Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord , so that the Lord 's fierce anger may turn away from Israel."
5So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor."
6Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
7When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand
8and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them-through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;
9but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
10The Lord said to Moses,
11"Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them.
12Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him.
13He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites."
14The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.
15And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
16The Lord said to Moses,
17"Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them,
18because they treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor."
26After the plague the Lord said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest,
2"Take a census of the whole Israelite community by families-all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Israel."
3So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said,
4"Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses." These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:
5The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were: through Hanoch, the Hanochite clan; through Pallu, the Palluite clan;
6through Hezron, the Hezronite clan; through Carmi, the Carmite clan.
7These were the clans of Reuben; those numbered were 43,730.
8The son of Pallu was Eliab,
9and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. The same Dathan and Abiram were the community officials who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah's followers when they rebelled against the Lord .
10The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men. And they served as a warning sign.
11The line of Korah, however, did not die out.
12The descendants of Simeon by their clans were: through Nemuel, the Nemuelite clan; through Jamin, the Jaminite clan; through Jakin, the Jakinite clan;
13through Zerah, the Zerahite clan; through Shaul, the Shaulite clan.
14These were the clans of Simeon; there were 22,200 men.
15The descendants of Gad by their clans were: through Zephon, the Zephonite clan; through Haggi, the Haggite clan; through Shuni, the Shunite clan;
16through Ozni, the Oznite clan; through Eri, the Erite clan;
17through Arodi, the Arodite clan; through Areli, the Arelite clan.
18These were the clans of Gad; those numbered were 40,500.
19Er and Onan were sons of Judah, but they died in Canaan.
20The descendants of Judah by their clans were: through Shelah, the Shelanite clan; through Perez, the Perezite clan; through Zerah, the Zerahite clan.
21The descendants of Perez were: through Hezron, the Hezronite clan; through Hamul, the Hamulite clan.
22These were the clans of Judah; those numbered were 76,500.
23The descendants of Issachar by their clans were: through Tola, the Tolaite clan; through Puah, the Puite clan;
24through Jashub, the Jashubite clan; through Shimron, the Shimronite clan.
25These were the clans of Issachar; those numbered were 64,300.
26The descendants of Zebulun by their clans were: through Sered, the Seredite clan; through Elon, the Elonite clan; through Jahleel, the Jahleelite clan.
27These were the clans of Zebulun; those numbered were 60,500.
28The descendants of Joseph by their clans through Manasseh and Ephraim were:
29The descendants of Manasseh: through Makir, the Makirite clan (Makir was the father of Gilead); through Gilead, the Gileadite clan.
30These were the descendants of Gilead: through Iezer, the Iezerite clan; through Helek, the Helekite clan;
31through Asriel, the Asrielite clan; through Shechem, the Shechemite clan;
32through Shemida, the Shemidaite clan; through Hepher, the Hepherite clan.
33(Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons; he had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.)
34These were the clans of Manasseh; those numbered were 52,700.
35These were the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: through Shuthelah, the Shuthelahite clan; through Beker, the Bekerite clan; through Tahan, the Tahanite clan.
36These were the descendants of Shuthelah: through Eran, the Eranite clan.
37These were the clans of Ephraim; those numbered were 32,500. These were the descendants of Joseph by their clans.
38The descendants of Benjamin by their clans were: through Bela, the Belaite clan; through Ashbel, the Ashbelite clan; through Ahiram, the Ahiramite clan;
39through Shupham, the Shuphamite clan; through Hupham, the Huphamite clan.
40The descendants of Bela through Ard and Naaman were: through Ard, the Ardite clan; through Naaman, the Naamite clan.
41These were the clans of Benjamin; those numbered were 45,600.
42These were the descendants of Dan by their clans: through Shuham, the Shuhamite clan. These were the clans of Dan:
43All of them were Shuhamite clans; and those numbered were 64,400.
44The descendants of Asher by their clans were: through Imnah, the Imnite clan; through Ishvi, the Ishvite clan; through Beriah, the Beriite clan;
45and through the descendants of Beriah: through Heber, the Heberite clan; through Malkiel, the Malkielite clan.
46(Asher had a daughter named Serah.)
47These were the clans of Asher; those numbered were 53,400.
48The descendants of Naphtali by their clans were: through Jahzeel, the Jahzeelite clan; through Guni, the Gunite clan;
49through Jezer, the Jezerite clan; through Shillem, the Shillemite clan.
50These were the clans of Naphtali; those numbered were 45,400.
51The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.
52The Lord said to Moses,
53"The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names.
54To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those listed.
55Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe.
56Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups."
57These were the Levites who were counted by their clans: through Gershon, the Gershonite clan; through Kohath, the Kohathite clan; through Merari, the Merarite clan.
58These also were Levite clans: the Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, the Korahite clan. (Kohath was the forefather of Amram;
59the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, who was born to the Levites in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses and their sister Miriam.
60Aaron was the father of Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
61But Nadab and Abihu died when they made an offering before the Lord with unauthorized fire.)
62All the male Levites a month old or more numbered 23,000. They were not counted along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance among them.
63These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
64Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai.
65For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
27The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They approached
2the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly, and said,
3"Our father died in the desert. He was not among Korah's followers, who banded together against the Lord , but he died for his own sin and left no sons.
4Why should our father's name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives."
5So Moses brought their case before the Lord
6and the Lord said to him,
7"What Zelophehad's daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father's relatives and turn their father's inheritance over to them.
8"Say to the Israelites, 'If a man dies and leaves no son, turn his inheritance over to his daughter.
9If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers.
10If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father's brothers.
11If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to be a legal requirement for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.' "
12Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go up this mountain in the Abarim range and see the land I have given the Israelites.
13After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was,
14for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes." (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)
15Moses said to the Lord ,
16"May the Lord , the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community
17to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord 's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd."
18So the Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him.
19Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence.
20Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.
21He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord . At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in."
22Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly.
23Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.
28The Lord said to Moses,
2"Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: 'See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.'
3Say to them: 'This is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the Lord : two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day.
4Prepare one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,
5together with a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives.
6This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.
7The accompanying drink offering is to be a quarter of a hin of fermented drink with each lamb. Pour out the drink offering to the Lord at the sanctuary.
8Prepare the second lamb at twilight, along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering that you prepare in the morning. This is an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
9" 'On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil.
10This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
11" 'On the first of every month, present to the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.
12With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil;
13and with each lamb, a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil. This is for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.
14With each bull there is to be a drink offering of half a hin of wine; with the ram, a third of a hin ; and with each lamb, a quarter of a hin. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon during the year.
15Besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the Lord as a sin offering.
16" 'On the fourteenth day of the first month the Lord 's Passover is to be held.
17On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast.
18On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
19Present to the Lord an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.
20With each bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;
21and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.
22Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.
23Prepare these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering.
24In this way prepare the food for the offering made by fire every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the Lord ; it is to be prepared in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
25On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
26" 'On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the Lord an offering of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
27Present a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .
28With each bull there is to be a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;
29and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.
30Include one male goat to make atonement for you.
31Prepare these together with their drink offerings, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Be sure the animals are without defect.
29" 'On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.
2As an aroma pleasing to the Lord , prepare a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.
3With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths ;
4and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.
5Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you.
6These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and drink offerings as specified. They are offerings made to the Lord by fire-a pleasing aroma.
7" 'On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work.
8Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.
9With the bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths;
10and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.
11Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering for atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
12" 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days.
13Present an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord , a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
14With each of the thirteen bulls prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with each of the two rams, two-tenths;
15and with each of the fourteen lambs, one-tenth.
16Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
17" 'On the second day prepare twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
18With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
19Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20" 'On the third day prepare eleven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
21With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
22Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
23" 'On the fourth day prepare ten bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
24With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
25Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
26" 'On the fifth day prepare nine bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
27With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
28Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
29" 'On the sixth day prepare eight bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
30With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
31Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
32" 'On the seventh day prepare seven bulls, two rams and fourteen male lambs a year old, all without defect.
33With the bulls, rams and lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
34Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
35" 'On the eighth day hold an assembly and do no regular work.
36Present an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord , a burnt offering of one bull, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.
37With the bull, the ram and the lambs, prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings according to the number specified.
38Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering.
39" 'In addition to what you vow and your freewill offerings, prepare these for the Lord at your appointed feasts: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings. ' "
40Moses told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him.
30Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: "This is what the Lord commands:
2When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
3"When a young woman still living in her father's house makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge
4and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand.
5But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.
6"If she marries after she makes a vow or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself
7and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand.
8But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.
9"Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.
10"If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath
11and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand.
12But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her.
13Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.
14But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them.
15If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he is responsible for her guilt."
16These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living in his house.
31The Lord said to Moses,
2"Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."
3So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the Lord 's vengeance on them.
4Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel."
5So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel.
6Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.
7They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man.
8Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba-the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
9The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder.
10They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.
11They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,
12and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.
13Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.
14Moses was angry with the officers of the army-the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds-who returned from the battle.
15"Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them.
16"They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord 's people.
17Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
18but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
19"All of you who have killed anyone or touched anyone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives.
20Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood."
21Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, "This is the requirement of the law that the Lord gave Moses:
22Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead
23and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water.
24On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp."
25The Lord said to Moses,
26"You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the community are to count all the people and animals that were captured.
27Divide the spoils between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community.
28From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.
29Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord 's part.
30From the Israelites' half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord 's tabernacle."
31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep,
3372,000 cattle,
3461,000 donkeys
35and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.
36The half share of those who fought in the battle was: 337,500 sheep,
37of which the tribute for the Lord was 675;
3836,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;
3930,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;
4016,000 people, of which the tribute for the Lord was 32.
41Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord 's part, as the Lord commanded Moses.
42The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men-
43the community's half-was 337,500 sheep,
4436,000 cattle,
4530,500 donkeys
46and 16,000 people.
47From the Israelites' half, Moses selected one out of every fifty persons and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord 's tabernacle.
48Then the officers who were over the units of the army-the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds-went to Moses
49and said to him, "Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.
50So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired-armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces-to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord ."
51Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold-all the crafted articles.
52All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.
53Each soldier had taken plunder for himself.
54Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord .
32The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock.
2So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said,
3"Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon-
4the land the Lord subdued before the people of Israel-are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock.
5If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan."
6Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?
7Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the Lord has given them?
8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land.
9After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them.
10The Lord 's anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath:
11'Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-
12not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'
13The Lord 's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
14"And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel.
15If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction."
16Then they came up to him and said, "We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children.
17But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land.
18We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance.
19We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan."
20Then Moses said to them, "If you will do this-if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle,
21and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him-
22then when the land is subdued before the Lord , you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord .
23"But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord ; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
24Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised."
25The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, "We your servants will do as our lord commands.
26Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead.
27But your servants, every man armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the Lord , just as our lord says."
28Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes.
29He said to them, "If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the Lord , then when the land is subdued before you, give them the land of Gilead as their possession.
30But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan."
31The Gadites and Reubenites answered, "Your servants will do what the Lord has said.
32We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan."
33Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan-the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.
34The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
35Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
36Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks.
37And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim,
38as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there.
40So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there.
41Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.
42And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself.
33Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
2At the Lord 's command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:
3The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Egyptians,
4who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods.
5The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Succoth.
6They left Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.
7They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.
8They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.
9They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
10They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.
12They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
13They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.
16They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.
17They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.
20They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.
21They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27They left Tahath and camped at Terah.
28They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.
29They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.
30They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.
32They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.
33They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.
36They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.
37They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of Edom.
38At the Lord 's command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.
39Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
41They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43They left Punon and camped at Oboth.
44They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.
45They left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad.
46They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.
47They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo.
48They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
49There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.
50On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses,
51"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,
52drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
53Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.
54Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.
55" 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.
56And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.' "
34The Lord said to Moses,
2"Command the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:
3" 'Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea,
4cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon,
5where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Sea.
6" 'Your western boundary will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.
7" 'For your northern boundary, run a line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor
8and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad,
9continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.
10" 'For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.
11The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Kinnereth.
12Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea. " 'This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.' "
13Moses commanded the Israelites: "Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes,
14because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.
15These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan of Jericho, toward the sunrise."
16The Lord said to Moses,
17"These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.
18And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land.
19These are their names: Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah;
20Shemuel son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Simeon;
21Elidad son of Kislon, from the tribe of Benjamin;
22Bukki son of Jogli, the leader from the tribe of Dan;
23Hanniel son of Ephod, the leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;
24Kemuel son of Shiphtan, the leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;
25Elizaphan son of Parnach, the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
26Paltiel son of Azzan, the leader from the tribe of Issachar;
27Ahihud son of Shelomi, the leader from the tribe of Asher;
28Pedahel son of Ammihud, the leader from the tribe of Naphtali."
29These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
35On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,
2"Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.
3Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock.
4"The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend out fifteen hundred feet from the town wall.
5Outside the town, measure three thousand feet on the east side, three thousand on the south side, three thousand on the west and three thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.
6"Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.
7In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands.
8The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few."
9Then the Lord said to Moses:
10"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,
11select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee.
12They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly.
13These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.
14Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.
15These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.
16" 'If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.
17Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.
18Or if anyone has a wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.
19The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
20If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at him intentionally so that he dies
21or if in hostility he hits him with his fist so that he dies, that person shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22" 'But if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally
23or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him,
24the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations.
25The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
26" 'But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he has fled
27and the avenger of blood finds him outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder.
28The accused must stay in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may he return to his own property.
29" 'These are to be legal requirements for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.
30" 'Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
31" 'Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. He must surely be put to death.
32" 'Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow him to go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
33" 'Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
34Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord , dwell among the Israelites.' "
36The family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, who were from the clans of the descendants of Joseph, came and spoke before Moses and the leaders, the heads of the Israelite families.
2They said, "When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.
3Now suppose they marry men from other Israelite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away.
4When the Year of Jubilee for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our forefathers."
5Then at the Lord 's command Moses gave this order to the Israelites: "What the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is saying is right.
6This is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad's daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within the tribal clan of their father.
7No inheritance in Israel is to pass from tribe to tribe, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal land inherited from his forefathers.
8Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father's tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of his fathers.
9No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits."
10So Zelophehad's daughters did as the Lord commanded Moses.
11Zelophehad's daughters-Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah-married their cousins on their father's side.
12They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in their father's clan and tribe.
13These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Deuteronomy

1These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan-that is, in the Arabah-opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.
2(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)
3In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.
4This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
5East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:
6The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
7Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.
8See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore he would give to your fathers-to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-and to their descendants after them."
9At that time I said to you, "You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone.
10The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky.
11May the Lord , the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!
12But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?
13Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you."
14You answered me, "What you propose to do is good."
15So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you-as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.
16And I charged your judges at that time: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien.
17Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.
18And at that time I told you everything you were to do.
19Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.
20Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
21See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord , the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
22Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to."
23The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.
24They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and explored it.
25Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, "It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us."
26But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God.
27You grumbled in your tents and said, "The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.
28Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.' "
29Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.
30The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes,
31and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."
32In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God,
33who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
34When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore:
35"Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers,
36except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly."
37Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, "You shall not enter it, either.
38But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it.
39And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad-they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.
40But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea. "
41Then you replied, "We have sinned against the Lord . We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us." So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.
42But the Lord said to me, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.' "
43So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord 's command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country.
44The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.
45You came back and wept before the Lord , but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you.
46And so you stayed in Kadesh many days-all the time you spent there.
2Then we turned back and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.
2Then the Lord said to me,
3"You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.
4Give the people these orders: 'You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful.
5Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.
6You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.' "
7The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
8So we went on past our brothers the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and traveled along the desert road of Moab.
9Then the Lord said to me, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession."
10(The Emites used to live there-a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.
11Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites.
12Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)
13And the Lord said, "Now get up and cross the Zered Valley." So we crossed the valley.
14Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.
15The Lord 's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp.
16Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,
17the Lord said to me,
18"Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.
19When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot."
20(That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
21They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.
22The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.
23And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)
24"Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.
25This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you."
26From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying,
27"Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.
28Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot-
29as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us-until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us."
30But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.
31The Lord said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land."
32When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz,
33the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army.
34At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them-men, women and children. We left no survivors.
35But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves.
36From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them.
37But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God, you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabbok nor that around the towns in the hills.
3Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.
2The Lord said to me, "Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon."
3So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors.
4At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them-the whole region of Argob, Og's kingdom in Bashan.
5All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages.
6We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city-men, women and children.
7But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.
8So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.
9(Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)
10We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, towns of Og's kingdom in Bashan.
11(Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
12Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns.
13The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Manasseh. (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.
14Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites; it was named after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair. )
15And I gave Gilead to Makir.
16But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites.
17Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah, from Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ), below the slopes of Pisgah.
18I commanded you at that time: "The Lord your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of your brother Israelites.
19However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you,
20until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them, across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you."
21At that time I commanded Joshua: "You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going.
22Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you."
23At that time I pleaded with the Lord :
24"O Sovereign Lord , you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?
25Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan-that fine hill country and Lebanon."
26But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. "That is enough," the Lord said. "Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.
27Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan.
28But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see."
29So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.
4Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the Lord , the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
3You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
4but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.
5See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.
6Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."
7What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?
8And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
9Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
10Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children."
11You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
12Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
13He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.
14And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
15You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,
16so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman,
17or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,
18or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.
19And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars-all the heavenly array-do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
20But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.
21The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance.
22I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.
23Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden.
24For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time-if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and provoking him to anger,
26I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed.
27The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you.
28There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
29But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him.
31For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
32Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?
33Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
34Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.
36From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire.
37Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,
38to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
39Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
40Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.
41Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan,
42to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if he had unintentionally killed his neighbor without malice aforethought. He could flee into one of these cities and save his life.
43The cities were these: Bezer in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.
44This is the law Moses set before the Israelites.
45These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt
46and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt.
47They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.
48This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
49and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
5Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.
2The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
3It was not with our fathers that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.
4The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.
5(At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord , because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
6"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7"You shall have no other gods before me.
8"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
10but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.
13Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.
15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
16"Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
17"You shall not murder.
18"You shall not commit adultery.
19"You shall not steal.
20"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
22These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
23When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me.
24And you said, "The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.
25But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer.
26For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?
27Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey."
28The Lord heard you when you spoke to me and the Lord said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.
29Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
30"Go, tell them to return to their tents.
31But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess."
32So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.
33Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
6These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
2so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.
3Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord , the God of your fathers, promised you.
4Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
5Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
7Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
8Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
9Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
10When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you-a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,
11houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant-then when you eat and are satisfied,
12be careful that you do not forget the Lord , who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
13Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.
14Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you;
15for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.
16Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah.
17Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.
18Do what is right and good in the Lord 's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers,
19thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
20In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?"
21tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
22Before our eyes the Lord sent miraculous signs and wonders-great and terrible-upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household.
23But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers.
24The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.
25And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."
7When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations-the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-
2and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.
3Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
4for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord 's anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
5This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.
6For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
7The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
8But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
10But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
11Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
12If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.
13He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land-your grain, new wine and oil-the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you.
14You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young.
15The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.
16You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?"
18But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
19You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.
20Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.
21Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
22The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.
23But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.
24He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them.
25The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.
26Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
8Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers.
2Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
3He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord .
4Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
5Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
6Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him.
7For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land-a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills;
8a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;
9a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
10When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
11Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
12Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,
13and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,
14then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
15He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.
16He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
17You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."
18But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
19If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.
20Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
9Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.
2The people are strong and tall-Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: "Who can stand up against the Anakites?"
3But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.
4After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you.
5It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
6Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
7Remember this and never forget how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord .
8At Horeb you aroused the Lord 's wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you.
9When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.
10The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.
11At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.
12Then the Lord told me, "Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made a cast idol for themselves."
13And the Lord said to me, "I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed!
14Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they."
15So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.
16When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.
17So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.
18Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord 's sight and so provoking him to anger.
19I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord , for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.
20And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.
21Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.
22You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah.
23And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, "Go up and take possession of the land I have given you." But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him.
24You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.
25I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights because the Lord had said he would destroy you.
26I prayed to the Lord and said, "O Sovereign Lord , do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
27Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin.
28Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, 'Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the desert.'
29But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm."
10At that time the Lord said to me, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden chest.
2I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the chest."
3So I made the ark out of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.
4The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me.
5Then I came back down the mountain and put the tablets in the ark I had made, as the Lord commanded me, and they are there now.
6(The Israelites traveled from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar his son succeeded him as priest.
7From there they traveled to Gudgodah and on to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.
8At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord , to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.
9That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as the Lord your God told them.)
10Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.
11"Go," the Lord said to me, "and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land that I swore to their fathers to give them."
12And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13and to observe the Lord 's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
14To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.
15Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.
16Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
17For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
18He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.
19And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
20Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.
21He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.
22Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
11Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.
2Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;
3the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;
4what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them.
5It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place,
6and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them.
7But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.
8Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
9and so that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden.
11But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.
12It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
13So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today-to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul-
14then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.
15I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
16Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.
17Then the Lord 's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.
18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
19Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,
21so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
22If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow-to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him-
23then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
24Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea.
25No man will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
26See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse-
27the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;
28the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
29When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.
30As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, west of the road, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh, in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.
31You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you have taken it over and are living there,
32be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.
12These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord , the God of your fathers, has given you to possess-as long as you live in the land.
2Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
3Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
4You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.
5But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
6there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit,
9since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you.
10But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety.
11Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name-there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord .
12And there rejoice before the Lord your God, you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns, who have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
13Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.
14Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
15Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
16But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
17You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
18Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose-you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns-and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to.
19Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you, and you crave meat and say, "I would like some meat," then you may eat as much of it as you want.
21If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.
22Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat.
23But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
24You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
25Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord .
26But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the Lord will choose.
27Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat.
28Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
29The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,
30and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same."
31You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
32See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
13If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder,
2and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them,"
3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
4It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
5That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
6If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known,
7gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other),
8do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him.
9You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
10Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
11Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
12If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in
13that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known),
14then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,
15you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock.
16Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt.
17None of those condemned things shall be found in your hands, so that the Lord will turn from his fierce anger; he will show you mercy, have compassion on you, and increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your forefathers,
18because you obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.
14You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
2for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
3Do not eat any detestable thing.
4These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.
6You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud.
7However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.
8The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.
9Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales.
10But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.
11You may eat any clean bird.
12But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
13the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon,
14any kind of raven,
15the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk,
16the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,
17the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant,
18the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
19All flying insects that swarm are unclean to you; do not eat them.
20But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.
21Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to an alien living in any of your towns, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.
22Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
23Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
24But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away),
25then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.
26Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.
27And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns,
29so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
15At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the Lord 's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
3You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.
4However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
5if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.
6For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
7If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.
8Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.
9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.
10Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
11There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
12If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
13And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
14Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.
15Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
16But if your servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your family and is well off with you,
17then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant.
18Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because his service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
19Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your oxen to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep.
20Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.
21If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.
22You are to eat it in your own towns. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it, as if it were gazelle or deer.
23But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
16Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night.
2Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
3Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste-so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.
4Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.
5You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you
6except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.
7Roast it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents.
8For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the Lord your God and do no work.
9Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.
10Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you.
11And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name-you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you.
12Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
13Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
14Be joyful at your Feast-you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
15For seven days celebrate the Feast to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.
16Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed:
17Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
18Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.
19Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
20Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.
21Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God,
22and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates.
17Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.
2If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,
3and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky,
4and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,
5take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.
6On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
7The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
8If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge-whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults-take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.
9Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.
10You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they direct you to do.
11Act according to the law they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.
12The man who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
13All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.
14When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,"
15be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
16The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."
17He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.
19It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
20and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
18The priests, who are Levites-indeed the whole tribe of Levi-are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the Lord by fire, for that is their inheritance.
2They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts.
4You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
5for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord 's name always.
6If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,
7he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord .
8He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.
9When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
11or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
12Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord , and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.
13You must be blameless before the Lord your God.
14The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.
15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."
17The Lord said to me: "What they say is good.
18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
19If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.
20But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
21You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord ?"
22If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
19When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,
2then set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
3Build roads to them and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that anyone who kills a man may flee there.
4This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life-one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.
5For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life.
6Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought.
7This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.
8If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your forefathers, and gives you the whole land he promised them,
9because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today-to love the Lord your God and to walk always in his ways-then you are to set aside three more cities.
10Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.
11But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
12the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.
13Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
14Do not move your neighbor's boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
15One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime,
17the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.
18The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother,
19then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you.
20The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.
21Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
20When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.
2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.
3He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.
4For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."
5The officers shall say to the army: "Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it.
6Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it.
7Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her."
8Then the officers shall add, "Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too."
9When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.
10When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.
11If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you.
12If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.
13When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
14As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.
15This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
16However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.
17Completely destroy them-the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites-as the Lord your God has commanded you.
18Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.
19When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?
20However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.
21If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
2your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.
3Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke
4and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.
5The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.
6Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
7and they shall declare: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.
8Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord , and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man." And the bloodshed will be atoned for.
9So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord .
10When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives,
11if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife.
12Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails
13and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.
14If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
15If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,
16when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.
17He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
18If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,
19his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.
20They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard."
21Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
22If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree,
23you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
22If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him.
2If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.
3Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.
4If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.
5A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.
6If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.
7You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
8When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.
9Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.
10Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
11Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
12Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
13If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her
14and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,"
15then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate.
16The girl's father will say to the elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her.
17Now he has slandered her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town,
18and the elders shall take the man and punish him.
19They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
20If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found,
21she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.
22If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
23If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her,
24you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death-the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
25But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die.
26Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor,
27for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.
28If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,
29he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
30A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.
23No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord .
2No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord , even down to the tenth generation.
3No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord , even down to the tenth generation.
4For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you.
5However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.
6Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.
7Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as an alien in his country.
8The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord .
9When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure.
10If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there.
11But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
12Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself.
13As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement.
14For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
15If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master.
16Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.
17No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.
18You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.
19Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.
20You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.
21If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.
22But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.
23Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.
24If you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket.
25If you enter your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.
24If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,
2and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man,
3and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies,
4then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord . Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.
6Do not take a pair of millstones-not even the upper one-as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man's livelihood as security.
7If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.
8In cases of leprous diseases be very careful to do exactly as the priests, who are Levites, instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them.
9Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.
10When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he is offering as a pledge.
11Stay outside and let the man to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you.
12If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession.
13Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.
14Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns.
15Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
16Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
17Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.
18Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
20When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.
21When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.
22Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
25When men have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty.
2If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make him lie down and have him flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime deserves,
3but he must not give him more than forty lashes. If he is flogged more than that, your brother will be degraded in your eyes.
4Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
5If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.
6The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
7However, if a man does not want to marry his brother's wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to carry on his brother's name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me."
8Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, "I do not want to marry her,"
9his brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line."
10That man's line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
11If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts,
12you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
13Do not have two differing weights in your bag-one heavy, one light.
14Do not have two differing measures in your house-one large, one small.
15You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
16For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.
17Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt.
18When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.
19When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
26When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it,
2take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name
3and say to the priest in office at the time, "I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us."
4The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God.
5Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.
6But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor.
7Then we cried out to the Lord , the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression.
8So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders.
9He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;
10and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O Lord , have given me." Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him.
11And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
12When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
13Then say to the Lord your God: "I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.
14I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me.
15Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."
16The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
17You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him.
18And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands.
19He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.
27Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: "Keep all these commands that I give you today.
2When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster.
3Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord , the God of your fathers, promised you.
4And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster.
5Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them.
6Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God.
7Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God.
8And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up."
9Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God.
10Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today."
11On the same day Moses commanded the people:
12When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.
13And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
15"Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol-a thing detestable to the Lord , the work of the craftsman's hands-and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
16"Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
17"Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's boundary stone." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
18"Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
19"Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
20"Cursed is the man who sleeps with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
21"Cursed is the man who has sexual relations with any animal." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
22"Cursed is the man who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
23"Cursed is the man who sleeps with his mother-in-law." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
24"Cursed is the man who kills his neighbor secretly." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
25"Cursed is the man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
26"Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"
28If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
2All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:
3You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock-the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.
10Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord , and they will fear you.
11The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity-in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground-in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
13The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
14Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.
15However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.
21The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.
22The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.
23The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.
24The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.
25The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.
26Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
27The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured.
28The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.
29At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
30You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.
31Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them.
32Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand.
33A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.
34The sights you see will drive you mad.
35The Lord will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
36The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.
37You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the Lord will drive you.
38You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it.
39You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.
40You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.
41You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.
42Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.
43The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.
44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
45All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.
46They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.
47Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity,
48therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
49The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,
50a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young.
51They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.
52They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God is giving you.
53Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.
54Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children,
55and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities.
56The most gentle and sensitive woman among you-so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot-will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter
57the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.
58If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name-the Lord your God-
59the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.
60He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you.
61The Lord will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.
62You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the Lord your God.
63Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.
64Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods-gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
65Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.
66You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.
67In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.
68The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
29These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.
2Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.
3With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders.
4But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.
5During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.
6You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.
7When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.
8We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
9Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.
10All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God-your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel,
11together with your children and your wives, and the aliens living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water.
12You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath,
13to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
14I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you
15who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.
16You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here.
17You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.
18Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.
19When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.
20The Lord will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.
21The Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
22Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it.
23The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur-nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.
24All the nations will ask: "Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?"
25And the answer will be: "It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord , the God of their fathers, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.
26They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them.
27Therefore the Lord 's anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.
28In furious anger and in great wrath the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now."
29The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
30When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations,
2and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today,
3then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.
4Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.
5He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.
6The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
7The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you.
8You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today.
9Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers,
10if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. The Offer of Life or Death
11Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
12It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
13Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
14No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
16For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
18I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
20and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
31Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel:
2"I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.'
3The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said.
4And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land.
5The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you.
6Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
7Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.
8The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
9So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord , and to all the elders of Israel.
10Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles,
11when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing.
12Assemble the people-men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns-so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.
13Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
14The Lord said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him." So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
15Then the Lord appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent.
16And the Lord said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
17On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?'
18And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
19"Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.
20When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.
21And when many disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath."
22So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.
23The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."
24After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end,
25he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord :
26"Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.
27For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!
28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them.
29For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made."
30And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:
32Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
3I will proclaim the name of the Lord . Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
4He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
5They have acted corruptly toward him; to their shame they are no longer his children, but a warped and crooked generation.
6Is this the way you repay the Lord , O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
7Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.
8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.
9For the Lord 's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
11like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.
12The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
13He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him with the fruit of the fields. He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag,
14with curds and milk from herd and flock and with fattened lambs and goats, with choice rams of Bashan and the finest kernels of wheat. You drank the foaming blood of the grape.
15Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, he became heavy and sleek. He abandoned the God who made him and rejected the Rock his Savior.
16They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols.
17They sacrificed to demons, which are not God- gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear.
18You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
19The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters.
20"I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.
21They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.
22For a fire has been kindled by my wrath, one that burns to the realm of death below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains.
23"I will heap calamities upon them and spend my arrows against them.
24I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts, the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.
25In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. Young men and young women will perish, infants and gray-haired men.
26I said I would scatter them and blot out their memory from mankind,
27but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, 'Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.' "
28They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them.
29If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be!
30How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?
31For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.
32Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness.
33Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
34"Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in my vaults?
35It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."
36The Lord will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.
37He will say: "Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in,
38the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!
39"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.
40I lift my hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever,
41when I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me.
42I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders."
43Rejoice, O nations, with his people, , for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.
44Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.
45When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel,
46he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.
47They are not just idle words for you-they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
48On that same day the Lord told Moses,
49"Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession.
50There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
51This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.
52Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel."
33This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death.
2He said: "The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.
3Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction,
4the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob.
5He was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel.
6"Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few."
7And this he said about Judah: "Hear, O Lord , the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!"
8About Levi he said: "Your Thummim and Urim belong to the man you favored. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.
9He said of his father and mother, 'I have no regard for them.' He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant.
10He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11Bless all his skills, O Lord , and be pleased with the work of his hands. Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more."
12About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders."
13About Joseph he said: "May the Lord bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below;
14with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield;
15with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
16with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh."
18About Zebulun he said: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents.
19They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand."
20About Gad he said: "Blessed is he who enlarges Gad's domain! Gad lives there like a lion, tearing at arm or head.
21He chose the best land for himself; the leader's portion was kept for him. When the heads of the people assembled, he carried out the Lord 's righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel."
22About Dan he said: "Dan is a lion's cub, springing out of Bashan."
23About Naphtali he said: "Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the Lord and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake."
24About Asher he said: "Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil.
25The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.
26"There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.
27The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, 'Destroy him!'
28So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob's spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.
29Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord ? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places. "
34Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land-from Gilead to Dan,
2all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,
3the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.
4Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
5And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said.
6He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.
7Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.
8The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
9Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
11who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt-to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land.
12For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.