The Sacred Bible: The Book of Numbers
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
{17:1} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{17:2} “Speak to the sons of Israel, and receive from each of them a rod by their kinships, from all the leaders of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of each one on his rod.
{17:3} But the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod separately shall contain all their families.
{17:4} And you shall place these in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to you.
{17:5} Whomever of these I will choose, his rod will germinate, and so shall I restrain the complaints of the sons of Israel before me, by which they murmur against you.”
{17:6} And Moses spoke to the sons of Israel. And all the leaders gave him rods, one for each tribe. And there were twelve rods, aside from the rod of Aaron.
{17:7} And when Moses had placed these before the Lord, in the tabernacle of the testimony,
{17:8} returning on the following day, he found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, had germinated, and that the swelling buds had opened into flowers, which, spreading their petals, were formed into those of an almond tree.
{17:9} Therefore, Moses brought out all the rods, from the sight of the Lord, to all the sons of Israel. And they saw, and each one received their rods.
{17:10} And the Lord said to Moses: “Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, so that it may be kept there as a sign of the rebellion of the sons of Israel, and so that their complaints may be quieted before me, lest they die.”
{17:11} And Moses did just as the Lord had instructed.
{17:12} Then the sons of Israel said to Moses: “Behold, we have been consumed; we have been ruined.
{17:13} Whoever approaches to the tabernacle of the Lord dies. Will we all be wiped away, even to total annihilation?”
{18:1} And the Lord said to Aaron: “You, and your sons, and the house of your father with you, shall carry the iniquity of the Sanctuary. And you and your sons together shall bear the sins of your priesthood.
{18:2} But take to yourselves also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, and the scepter of your father, and may they be prepared, and may they minister to you. Then you and your sons shall minister in the tabernacle of the testimony.
{18:3} And the Levites shall stand watch by your precepts, and for all the works of the tabernacle; yet in such a manner that they shall not approach the vessels of the Sanctuary and of the altar, lest both they die, and you perish, at the same time.
{18:4} But they may be with you, and they may watch over the care of the tabernacle and all its ceremonies. A foreigner shall not be mixed with you.
{18:5} Watch over the care of the Sanctuary, and over the ministry of the altar, lest an indignation may rise over the sons of Israel.
{18:6} I have given your brothers, the Levites, to you from the midst of the sons of Israel, and I have delivered them as a gift to the Lord, in order to serve in the ministries of his tabernacle.
{18:7} But as for you and your sons: guard the priesthood. For all that pertains to the service of the altar and of what is beyond the veil shall be exercised by the priests. If any outsider will approach, he shall be killed.”
{18:8} And the Lord said to Aaron: “Behold, I have given you custody of my first-fruits. Everything that is sanctified by the sons of Israel I have delivered to you and your sons, for the office of the priesthood, by everlasting ordinances.
{18:9} Therefore, you shall receive these, from the things that are sanctified and offered to the Lord. Every offering, and sacrifice, and whatever is repaid to me, on behalf of sin and also for offenses, and which becomes the Holy of holies, shall be for you and for your sons.
{18:10} You shall eat it in the Sanctuary. Only the males shall eat from it, because it has been consecrated for you.
{18:11} But the first-fruits, which the sons of Israel shall vow and offer, I have given to you, and to your sons, as well as to your daughters, by a perpetual right. Whoever is clean in your house shall eat them.
{18:12} All the innermost of the oil, and of the wine, and of the grain, whatever first-fruits they offer to the Lord, I have given to you.
{18:13} All the first of the crops, which the soil produces and which are carried to the Lord, shall fall to your use. Whoever is clean in your house shall eat them.
{18:14} All that the sons of Israel shall repay by vow shall be yours.
{18:15} Whatever goes out first from the womb, of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether from men or from cattle, shall be your right; yet only in so far as, for the firstborn of man, you shall accept a price. And every animal that is unclean you shall cause to be redeemed.
{18:16} And its redemption shall be, after one month, five shekels of silver, by the weight of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.
{18:17} But the firstborn of a cow, or of a sheep, or of a goat, you shall not cause to be redeemed, because they have been sanctified to the Lord. Thus, their blood you shall pour out upon the altar, and their fat you shall burn as a most sweet odor to the Lord.
{18:18} Yet truly, the flesh shall fall to your use, just as the consecrated breast and the right shoulder shall be yours.
{18:19} All the first-fruits of the Sanctuary, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and to your sons as well as to your daughters, as a perpetual right. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord, for you and for your sons.”
{18:20} And the Lord said to Aaron: “In their land, you shall possess nothing; neither shall you have a portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel.
{18:21} But I have given, to the sons of Levi, all the tithes of Israel as a possession, for the ministry by which they serve me in the tabernacle of the covenant,
{18:22} so that the sons of Israel may no longer approach to the tabernacle, nor commit deadly sin.
{18:23} Only the sons of Levi may serve me in the tabernacle and may carry the sins of the people. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. They shall possess nothing else;
{18:24} being content with the oblation of tithes, which I have separated for their uses and necessities.”
{18:25} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{18:26} “Instruct the Levites, and also declare to them: When you will receive, from the sons of Israel, the tithes, which I have given to you, offer their first-fruits to the Lord, that is, the tenth part of a tenth,
{18:27} so that it may be accounted to you as an oblation of the first-fruits, as much from the threshing floors as from the oil and wine presses.
{18:28} And offer the first-fruits of everything, from which you receive tithes, to the Lord, and give them to Aaron the priest.
{18:29} Everything which you shall offer from the tithes, and which you shall separate as gifts to the Lord, shall be the finest and most select.
{18:30} And you shall say to them: ‘If you offer the noble and the better of the tithes, it shall be accounted to you as if you had given from the first-fruits of the threshing floor and of the oil and wine presses.’
{18:31} And you shall eat these in all your places, both you and your families, because it is your price for the ministry, by which you serve in the tabernacle of the testimony.
{18:32} And you shall not sin in this way: by reserving the excellent and fat things for yourselves, lest you pollute the oblations of the sons of Israel, and lest you die.”
{19:1} And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
{19:2} “This is the ritual that the Lord has appointed for a victim. Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may bring to you a red cow of full maturity, in which there is no blemish, and which has not carried a yoke.
{19:3} And you shall deliver it to Eleazar the priest, who, having led it out beyond the camp, shall immolate it in the sight of all.
{19:4} And dipping his finger in its blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times, opposite the door of the tabernacle.
{19:5} And he shall burn it, while all are watching, delivering into the flame, not only its skin and flesh, but also the blood and dung.
{19:6} Likewise, cedar wood, and hyssop, and twice-dyed scarlet he shall cast into the flame, by which the cow is consumed.
{19:7} And then finally, having washed his garments and his body, he shall enter into the camp, and he shall be deeply stained until evening.
{19:8} Then he also who had burned it shall wash his garments and his body, and he shall be unclean until evening.
{19:9} Then a clean man shall gather the ashes of the cow, and he shall pour them out beyond the camp, in a very pure place, so that they may be preserved for the multitude of the sons of Israel, and for the water of aspersion, because the cow was burned for sin.
{19:10} And when he who had carried the ashes of the cow will have washed his garments, he shall be unclean until evening. The sons of Israel, and the newcomers who live among them, shall have this as a holy and perpetual right.
{19:11} Whoever touches the corpse of a man, and is, because of this, unclean for seven days,
{19:12} shall be sprinkled from this water on the third and seventh days, and so shall he be cleansed. But if he was not sprinkled on the third day, he is not able to be cleansed on the seventh.
{19:13} Anyone who will have touched the dead body of a human life, and who has not been sprinkled with this mixture, pollutes the tabernacle of the Lord, and he shall perish out of Israel. For not having been sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his filth shall remain upon him.
{19:14} This is the law of a man who dies in a tent. All who enter into his tent, and all the vessels which are there, shall be polluted for seven days.
{19:15} The vessel that has no cover or binding over it shall be unclean.
{19:16} If anyone in the field will have touched the corpse of a man, who was killed or who died on his own, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean for seven days.
{19:17} And they shall take some of the ashes from the burning and the sin offering, and they shall pour living waters over them into a vessel.
{19:18} And into it a man who is clean shall dip hyssop, and he shall sprinkle from it the entire tent, and all its articles, and the men who were polluted by means of contact.
{19:19} And so, in this manner, what is clean shall purify what is unclean, on the third and seventh days. And having been expiated on the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening.
{19:20} If anyone has not been expiated by this ritual, his soul shall perish from the midst of the Church. For he has polluted the Sanctuary of the Lord, and he has not been sprinkled with purifying waters.
{19:21} This precept shall be an everlasting ordinance. Likewise, the one who has sprinkled the waters shall wash his garments. All who will have touched the waters of expiation shall be unclean until evening.
{19:22} Whatever has been touched by something unclean will itself be made unclean. And the soul who touches any of these things shall become unclean until evening.”
{20:1} And the sons of Israel, and the entire multitude, went into the desert of Sin, in the first month. And the people stayed at Kadesh. And Miriam died there, and she was buried in the same place.
{20:2} And when the people were in need of water, they came together against Moses and Aaron.
{20:3} And as it turned into sedition, they said: “If only we had perished among our brothers in the sight of the Lord.
{20:4} Why have you led away the Church of the Lord, into the wilderness, so that both we and our cattle would die?
{20:5} Why did you cause us to ascend from Egypt, and why have you led us into this most wretched place, which is not able to be sown, which does not produce figs, or vines, or pomegranates, and which, moreover, does not even have water to drink?”
{20:6} And Moses and Aaron, dismissing the multitude, entered the tabernacle of the covenant, and they fell prone on the ground, and they cried out to the Lord, and they said: “O Lord God, listen to the outcry of this people, and open for them, from your storehouse, a fountain of living water, so that, being satisfied, their murmuring may cease.” And the glory of the Lord appeared over them.
{20:7} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{20:8} “Take the rod, and gather the people, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall bestow waters. And when you have brought forth water from the rock, the entire multitude and their cattle shall drink.”
{20:9} Therefore, Moses took the rod, which was in the sight of the Lord, just as he had instructed him.
{20:10} And having gathered the multitude before the rock, he said to them: “Listen, you who are rebellious and unbelieving. Would we be able to cast out water from this rock?”
{20:11} And when Moses had lifted up his hand, striking the stone twice with the rod, very great waters went forth, so much so that the people and their cattle were able to drink.
{20:12} And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe me, so as to sanctify me before the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this people into the land, which I will give to them.”
{20:13} This is the Water of Contradiction, where the sons of Israel were quarreling against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
{20:14} Meanwhile, Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. They said: “Your brother Israel says this: You know of all the hardships which have overtaken us,
{20:15} how our fathers descended into Egypt, and we lived there for a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted both us and our fathers,
{20:16} and how we cried out to the Lord, and he heeded us and sent an Angel, who led us away from Egypt. Behold, we are situated in the city of Kadesh, which is at the extremity of your borders.
{20:17} And we beg you to permit us to cross through your land. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards; we will not drink the waters of your wells, but we will travel by the public ways, neither turning aside to the right, nor to the left, until we have passed your borders.”
{20:18} Edom responded to them: “You shall not cross through me, otherwise, I will meet you armed.”
{20:19} And the sons of Israel said: “We will travel by the well-trodden path. And if we or our cattle drink from your waters, we will give you what is just. There shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us cross through quickly.”
{20:20} But he answered, “You shall not cross.” And immediately he went out to meet them with a countless multitude and a strong hand;
{20:21} neither was he willing to agree to their petition to concede passage through his borders. For this reason, Israel diverted away from him.
{20:22} And when they had moved the camp from Kadesh, they arrived at mount Hor, which is at the borders of the land of Edom,
{20:23} where the Lord spoke to Moses:
{20:24} “Let Aaron,” he said, “go to his people. For he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because he did not believe my mouth at the Waters of Contradiction.
{20:25} Take Aaron, and his son with him, and lead them on to mount Hor.
{20:26} And when you have stripped the father of his vestments, you shall put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron shall be gathered and shall die there.”
{20:27} Moses did just as the Lord had instructed. And they ascended mount Hor, in the sight of the entire multitude.
{20:28} And when he had despoiled Aaron of his vestments, he clothed his son Eleazar with them.
{20:29} And when Aaron had died at the top of the mountain, Moses came down with Eleazar.
{20:30} And the entire multitude, seeing that Aaron lay dead, wept over him for thirty days, throughout all their families.
{21:1} And when king Arad the Canaanite, who was living toward the south, had heard this, namely, that Israel had arrived by the way of spies, he fought against them. And proving to be the victor, he led away prey from them.
{21:2} But Israel, obliging himself by a vow to the Lord, said: “If you deliver this people into my hand, I will wipe away their cities.”
{21:3} And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and he delivered the Canaanite, whom they put to death, overthrowing his cities. And they called the name of that place Hormah, that is, Anathema.
{21:4} Then they set out from mount Hor, by the way that leads to the Red Sea, to circle around the land of Edom. And the people began to tire of their journey and hardships.
{21:5} And speaking against God and Moses, they said: “Why did you lead us away from Egypt, so as to die in the wilderness? Bread is lacking; there are no waters. Our soul is now nauseous over this very light food.”
{21:6} For this reason, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which wounded or killed many of them.
{21:7} And so they went to Moses, and they said: “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray, so that he may take away these serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.
{21:8} And the Lord said to him: “Make a bronze serpent, and place it as a sign. Whoever, having been struck, gazes upon it, shall live.”
{21:9} Therefore, Moses made a bronze serpent, and he placed it as a sign. When those who had been struck gazed upon it, they were healed.
{21:10} And the sons of Israel, setting out, made camp at Oboth.
{21:11} Having departed from there, they pitched their tents at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness, which looks out toward Moab, opposite the eastern region.
{21:12} And moving from there, they arrived at the Torrent of Zared.
{21:13} Having left that place behind, they then made camp opposite Arnon, which is in the desert, and which juts out at the borders of the Amorite. For certainly Arnon is at the limit of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorites.
{21:14} About this place, it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: “As he did at the Red Sea, so will he do at the Torrents of Arnon.”
{21:15} The stones of the torrents were bent, so that they might rest in Ar and lie back within the borders of the Moabites.
{21:16} Beyond that place appeared a well, about which the Lord said to Moses: “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
{21:17} Then Israel sang this verse: “Let the well rise up.” They sang:
{21:18} “The well, the leaders dug it, and the commanders of the multitude prepared it, at the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staffs.”
{21:19} They went from the wilderness to Mattanah, from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
{21:20} from Bamoth, a valley in the region of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks out opposite the desert.
{21:21} Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, saying:
{21:22} “I beg you to permit me to cross through your land. We will not turn aside into the fields or the vineyards. We will not drink waters from the wells. We will travel by the royal way, until we have passed your borders.”
{21:23} And he was not willing to allow Israel to cross through his borders. But instead, gathering an army, he went out to meet them in the desert, and he arrived at Jahaz and fought against them.
{21:24} And he was struck down by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from Arnon, even to Jabbok and the sons of Ammon. For the borders of the Ammonites were held by a strong fortress.
{21:25} Therefore, Israel took all his cities and lived in the cities of the Amorite, namely, in Heshbon and its villages.
{21:26} Heshbon was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who fought against the king of Moab. And he took all the land, which had been under his sovereignty, as far as Arnon.
{21:27} About this, it is said in the proverb: “Enter into Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be established and built.
{21:28} A fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the town of Sihon, and it has devoured Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the heights of Arnon.
{21:29} Woe to you, Moab! You are perishing, O people of Chemosh. He gave flight to his sons, and he gave the daughters into captivity, to the king of the Amorites, Sihon.
{21:30} Their yoke has been scattered from Heshbon even to Dibon. They have passed through, wearily, into Nophah, and as far as Medeba.”
{21:31} And so Israel lived in the land of the Amorite.
{21:32} And Moses sent some to explore Jazer. These captured its villages and possessed its inhabitants.
{21:33} And they turned themselves and ascended, along the way of Bashan. And Og, the king of Bashan, met them with all his people, to fight at Edrei.
{21:34} And the Lord said to Moses: “Do not be afraid of him. For I have delivered him, and all his people, as well as his land, into your hand. And you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, the inhabitant of Heshbon.”
{21:35} Therefore, they struck him down also, with his sons, and all his people, even to utter destruction, and they possessed his land.
{22:1} And they set out and made camp in the plains of Moab, across the Jordan, where Jericho is situated.
{22:2} Then Balak, the son of Zippor, seeing all that Israel had done to the Amorite,
{22:3} and that the Moabites had great fear of him, and that they were not able to bear his assault,
{22:4} said to those greater by birth of Midian: “So will this people wipe away all those who are dwelling within our borders, in the same way that the ox is accustomed to tear out grass, all the way to the roots.” At that time, he was king of Moab.
{22:5} Therefore, he sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, a seer who lived above the river of the land of the sons of Ammon, to call him, and to say: “Behold, a people has gone forth from Egypt, which has covered the face of the earth. They are encamped opposite me.
{22:6} Therefore, come and curse this people, for they are stronger than I am. If only, in some way, I might be able to strike them and to drive them from my land. For I know that he whom you bless shall be blessed, and he whom you curse shall be cursed.”
{22:7} And the elders of Moab, and those greater by birth of Midian, continued on, holding the price of divination in their hands. And when they had come to Balaam, and had explained to him all the words of Balak,
{22:8} he responded, “Remain for this night, and I will answer with whatever the Lord will say to me.” And while they stayed with Balaam, God came and said to him,
{22:9} “What do these men want with you?”
{22:10} He responded, “Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of the Moabites has sent to me,
{22:11} saying: ‘Behold, a people, which has gone forth from Egypt, has covered the face of the earth. Come and curse them, so that, in some way, I may be able to fight them and drive them away.’ ”
{22:12} And God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them, and do not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
{22:13} And he, rising up in the morning, said to the leaders, “Go into your own land, for the Lord has prohibited me from going with you.”
{22:14} Returning, the leaders said to Balak, “Balaam was not willing to come with us.”
{22:15} Again, he sent many more persons, and these were more noble than those he had sent before.
{22:16} And when these had come to Balaam, they said: “So says Balak, the son of Zippor. Do not hesitate to come to me.
{22:17} For I am ready to honor you, and whatever you would want, I shall give to you. Come and curse this people.”
{22:18} Balaam responded: “Even if Balak were to give to me his own house, filled with silver and gold, I still would not be able to change the word of the Lord my God, neither to say more, nor to say less.
{22:19} I beg you to remain for this night also, so that I may know what the Lord will answer me again.”
{22:20} Therefore, God came to Balaam in the night, and said to him: “If these men have arrived to call you, then rise up and go with them; yet only in so far as you shall do what I will command you.”
{22:21} Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddling his donkey, he set out with them.
{22:22} And God was angry. And an Angel of the Lord stood in the way opposite Balaam, who was sitting on the donkey, and he had two servants with him.
{22:23} The donkey, discerning that the Angel was standing in the way with a drawn sword, turned herself from the road and went through a field. And when Balaam beat her and intended to return her to the path,
{22:24} the Angel stood in a narrow place between the two walls, with which the vineyards were enclosed.
{22:25} And the donkey, seeing this, drew herself close to the wall and scraped the foot of the rider. So he beat her again.
{22:26} And, nevertheless, the Angel passing on to a narrow place, where one would not be able to deviate either to the right or to the left, stood to meet him.
{22:27} And when the donkey had seen the Angel standing there, she fell under the feet of the rider, who, being angry, struck her sides more vehemently with a club.
{22:28} And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said: “What have I done to you? Why do strike you me, behold now, for the third time?”
{22:29} Balaam responded, “Because you have deserved it, and you have mistreated me. If only I had a sword, so that I might pierce you.”
{22:30} The donkey said: “Am not I your animal, on which you have always been accustomed to sit, even until this present day? Tell me, when did I ever do the same thing to you.” But he said, “Never.”
{22:31} Immediately, the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel standing in the way with a drawn sword, and he reverenced him prone on the ground.
{22:32} And the Angel said to him: “Why did you beat your donkey three times? I have come to be an adversary to you, because your way is perverse and contrary to me.
{22:33} And unless the donkey had turned aside from the way, allowing a place for my opposition, I would have killed you, and she would have lived.”
{22:34} Balaam said: “I have sinned, not knowing that you stood against me. And now, if it displeases you for me to continue on, I will return.”
{22:35} The Angel said, “Go with them, but be careful not to speak anything other than what I shall instruct you.” And so, he went with the leaders.
{22:36} And when Balak had heard it, he went out to meet him in a town of the Moabites, which is situated at the furthest borders of Arnon.
{22:37} And he said to Balaam: “I sent messengers to call you. Why did you not come to me immediately? Was it because I am not able to pay the cost for your arrival?”
{22:38} He answered him: “Behold, here I am. Am I able to speak anything other than what God will put into my mouth?”
{22:39} Therefore, they continued on together, and they arrived at a city, which was at the furthest borders of his kingdom.
{22:40} And after Balak had killed oxen and sheep, he sent the gifts to Balaam, and to the leaders who were with him.
{22:41} Then, when morning arrived, he led him to the heights of Baal, and he gazed upon the most distant portions of the population.
{23:1} And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”
{23:2} And when he had acted according to the words of Balaam, they placed a calf and a ram together on each altar.
{23:3} And Balaam said to Balak: “Stand for a little while next to your holocaust, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet with me. And whatever he will command, I shall speak to you.”
{23:4} And after he had quickly departed, God met with him. And Balaam, speaking to him, said: “I have set up seven altars, and I have placed a calf and a ram on each.”
{23:5} Then the Lord placed the word in his mouth, and he said: “Return to Balak, and you shall say this.”
{23:6} Returning, he found Balak standing next to his holocaust, with all the leaders of the Moabites.
{23:7} And taking up his parable, he said: “Balak, king of the Moabites, has led me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come forth,’ he said, ‘and curse Jacob. Hurry and condemn Israel.’
{23:8} How shall I curse him, whom God has not cursed? For what reason would I condemn him, whom the Lord does not condemn?
{23:9} I will look upon him from the tops of the stones, and I will consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and they shall not be counted among the nations.
{23:10} Who can number the dust that is Jacob, and who can know the number of the stock of Israel? May my soul die a just death, and may my end be like theirs.”
{23:11} And Balak said to Balaam: “What is this that you are doing? I called for you, in order to curse my enemies, and to the contrary, you bless them.”
{23:12} He answered him, “How can I say anything other than what the Lord orders?”
{23:13} Therefore, Balak said: “Come with me to another place, from where you may see a portion of Israel, though you cannot see them all. Curse them from there.”
{23:14} And when he had led him to a lofty place, on the top of mount Pisgah, Balaam built seven altars, and placing upon each a calf and a ram,
{23:15} he said to Balak, “Stand here next to your holocaust, while I continue on to meet him.”
{23:16} And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said, “Return to Balak, and you shall say this to him.”
{23:17} Returning, he found him standing next to his holocaust, and the leaders of the Moabites were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
{23:18} But, taking up his parable, he said: “Stand, Balak, and pay attention. Listen, you son of Zippor.
{23:19} God is not like a man, so that he would lie, nor is he like a son of man, so that he would be changed. Therefore, having spoken, will he not act? Has he ever spoken, and not fulfilled?
{23:20} I was led here to bless, and I have no strength to hinder the blessing.
{23:21} There is no idol in Jacob; neither is there a false image to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the resound of royal victory is in him.
{23:22} God has led him away from Egypt; his strength is like that of the rhinoceros.
{23:23} There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor any divination in Israel. In their times, it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God has wrought.
{23:24} Behold, the people will rise up like a lioness, and lie down like a lion. But they will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
{23:25} And Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse him, nor bless him.”
{23:26} And he said, “Have I not told you that whatever God would command of me, I would do?”
{23:27} And Balak said to him: “Come and I will lead you to another place. If perhaps it may please God, then you may curse them from there.”
{23:28} And when he had led him on to the top of mount Peor, which looks out toward the wilderness,
{23:29} Balaam said to him, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”
{23:30} Balak did as Balaam had said, and he placed on each altar a calf and a ram.
{24:1} And when Balaam had seen that it was pleasing to the Lord that he should bless Israel, he by no means went out as he had gone before, to seek divination. But directing his face opposite the desert,
{24:2} and lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel dwelling in tents by their tribes. And with the Spirit of God rushing into him,
{24:3} taking up his parable, he said: “Balaam, the son of Beor, the man whose eye has been obstructed,
{24:4} the hearer of the sermon of God, he who has gazed upon a vision of the Almighty, he who falls down and so his eyes are opened, has declared:
{24:5} ‘How beautiful are your tabernacles, O Jacob, and your tents, O Israel!
{24:6} They are like forested valleys, like gardens irrigated next to rivers, like tabernacles which the Lord has fixed, like cedars close to waters.
{24:7} Water shall flow from his jar, and his offspring shall be amid many waters, because Agag, his king, shall be taken, and his kingdom shall be removed.
{24:8} Away from Egypt, God has led him, whose strength is like the rhinoceros. They shall devour the nations that are his enemies, and break their bones, and pierce them with arrows.
{24:9} Lying down, he has slept like a lion, and like a lioness, whom no one would dare to awaken. He who blesses you, shall himself also be blessed. He who curses you, shall be considered cursed.”
{24:10} And Balak, being angry against Balaam, clapped his hands together and said: “I called you to curse my enemies, and, to the contrary, you have blessed them three times.
{24:11} Return to your place. I had decided, indeed, to honor you greatly, but the Lord has deprived you of the designated honor.”
{24:12} Balaam responded to Balak: “Did I not say to your messengers, whom you sent to me:
{24:13} Even if Balak would give me his house, filled with silver and gold, I still could not go away from the word of the Lord my God, so as to offer anything, either good or evil, from my own heart; but whatever the Lord will speak, this, too, I shall speak.
{24:14} Yet truly, as I continue on to my own people, I will give you counsel as to what this people shall do to your people in the end times.”
{24:15} Therefore, taking up his parable, he again spoke: “Balaam the son of Beor, the man whose eye has been obstructed,
{24:16} the hearer of the sermon of God, he who knows the doctrine of the Most High, and who sees the visions of the Almighty, who, falling down, has his eyes opened, has declared:
{24:17} I shall see him, but not presently. I shall gaze upon him, but not soon. A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a rod shall spring up from Israel. And he shall strike down the commanders of Moab, and he shall devastate all the sons of Seth.
{24:18} And he shall possess Idumea; the inheritance of Seir shall fall to their enemies. Yet truly, Israel shall act with strength.
{24:19} From Jacob will be he who shall be ruler. And he shall perish the remnants of the city.”
{24:20} And when he saw Amalek, taking up his parable, he said: “Amalek, first among the Gentiles, whose very end shall be perdition.”
{24:21} Likewise, he saw the Kainites, and taking up his parable, he said: “Robust, indeed, is your habitation. But though you will set your nest in a rock,
{24:22} and you will be elect among the stock of Kain, how long will you be able to remain? For Assur shall take you captive.”
{24:23} And taking up his parable once more he said: “Alas! Who will be able to survive, when God will do these things?
{24:24} They shall arrive in Greek warships from Italy. They shall overcome the Assyrians, and they shall devastate the Hebrews, and yet, at the very end, even they themselves shall perish.”
{24:25} And Balaam rose up, and he returned to his place. Likewise, Balak went back, along the way by which he had arrived.
{25:1} Now Israel, at that time, dwelt in Shittim, and the people were fornicating with the daughters of Moab,
{25:2} who called them to their sacrifices. And they ate, and they adored their gods.
{25:3} And Israel was initiated into Baal of Peor. And so the Lord, being angry,
{25:4} said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, and hang them on gallows against the sun, so that my fury may be averted from Israel.”
{25:5} And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Let each one kill his neighbors, who have been initiated into Baal of Peor.”
{25:6} And behold, one of the sons of Israel entered, in the sight of his brothers, to a prostitute of Midian, within view of Moses and of all the crowd of the sons of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle.
{25:7} And when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, had seen it, he rose up from the midst of the multitude, and, seizing a dagger,
{25:8} he entered after the Israelite man, into the brothel, and he pierced both of them at the same time, specifically, the man and the woman at the location of their genitals. And the scourge ceased from among the sons of Israel.
{25:9} And there were slain twenty-four thousand men.
{25:10} And the Lord said to Moses:
{25:11} “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has averted my wrath from the sons of Israel. For he was moved against them by my zeal, so that I myself, in my zeal, might not wipe away the sons of Israel.
{25:12} Because of this, say to him: Behold, I give to him the peace of my covenant.
{25:13} And the covenant of the everlasting priesthood shall be as much for him as for his offspring. For he was zealous on behalf of his God, and he has made expiation for the wickedness of the sons of Israel.”
{25:14} Now the name of the Israelite man, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader from the kinship and tribe of Simeon.
{25:15} Moreover, the Midianite woman, who was put to death together with him, was called Cozbi the daughter of Zur, a most noble leader among the Midianites.
{25:16} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{25:17} “Let the Midianites perceive you as enemies, and strike them down,
{25:18} for they, too, have behaved with hostility against you, and they have deceived you insidiously by means of the idol Peor, and by Cozbi, the daughter of a commander of Midian, their sister, who was struck down in the day of the scourge because of the sacrilege of Peor.”
{26:1} After the blood of the guilty was shed, the Lord said to Moses, and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest:
{26:2} “Number the entire sum of the sons of Israel, from twenty years and above, by their houses and kinships, all who are able to go forth to war.”
{26:3} And so, Moses and Eleazar the priest, who were in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho, spoke to those who were
{26:4} from twenty years and above, just as the Lord had commanded. And this is their number:
{26:5} Ruben, the firstborn of Israel; his son, Hanoch, from whom is the family of the Hanochites; and Pallu, from whom is the family of the Palluites;
{26:6} and Hezron, from whom is the family of the Hezronites; and Carmi, from whom is the family of the Carmites.
{26:7} These are the families of the stock of Ruben, whose number was found to be forty-three thousand and seven hundred thirty.
{26:8} The son of Phallu: Eliab;
{26:9} his sons, Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are Dathan and Abiram, the leaders of the people, who rose up against Moses and Aaron in the sedition at Korah, when they rebelled against the Lord.
{26:10} And the earth, opening its mouth, devoured Korah, with many others dying, when the fire burned two hundred fifty men. And a great miracle was wrought,
{26:11} so that, when Korah perished, his sons did not perish.
{26:12} The sons of Simeon, by their kinships: Nemuel, from him is the family of the Nemuelites; Jamin, from him is the family of the Jaminites; Jachin, from him is the family of the Jachinites;
{26:13} Sohar, from him is the family of the Soharites; Shaul, from him is the family of the Shaulites.
{26:14} These are the families of the stock of Simeon, whose entire number was twenty-two thousand two hundred.
{26:15} The sons of Gad, by their kinships: Zephon, from him is the family of the Zephonites; Haggi, from him is the family of the Haggites; Shuni, from him is the family of the Shunites;
{26:16} Ozni, from him is the family of the Oznites; Eri, from him is the family of the Erites;
{26:17} Arod, from him is the family of the Arodites; Areli, from him is the family of the Arelites.
{26:18} These are the families of Gad, whose entire number was forty thousand five hundred.
{26:19} The sons of Judah: Er and Onan, who both died in the land of Canaan.
{26:20} And these were the sons of Judah, by their kinships: Shelah, from whom is the family of the Shelahites; Perez, from whom is the family of the Perezites; Zerah, from whom is the family of the Zerahites.
{26:21} Moreover, the sons of Phares were: Hezron, from whom is the family of the Hezronites; and Hamul, from whom is the family of the Hamulites.
{26:22} These are the families of Judah, whose entire number was seventy-six thousand five hundred.
{26:23} The sons of Issachar, by their kinships: Tola from whom is the family of the Tolaites; Puvah, from whom is the family of the Puvahites;
{26:24} Jashub, from whom is the family of the Jashubites; Shimron, from whom is the family of the Shimronites.
{26:25} These are the kinships of Issachar, whose number was sixty-four thousand three hundred.
{26:26} The sons of Zebulon by their kinships: Sered, from whom is the family of the Seredites; Elon, from whom is the family of the Elonites; Jahleel, from whom is the family of the Jahleelites.
{26:27} These are the kinships of Zebulun, whose number was sixty thousand five hundred.
{26:28} The sons of Joseph by their kinships: Manasseh and Ephraim.
{26:29} From Manasseh was born Machir, from whom is the family of the Machirites. Machir conceived Gilead, from whom is the family of the Gileadites.
{26:30} Gilead had sons: Jezer, from whom is the family of the Jezerites; and Helek, from whom is the family of the Helekites;
{26:31} and Asriel, from whom is the family of the Asrielites; and Shechem, from whom is the family of the Shechemites;
{26:32} and Shemida, from whom is the family of the Shemidaites; and Hepher, from whom is the family of the Hepherites.
{26:33} Now Hepher was the father of Zelophehad, who had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Mahlah, and Noa, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
{26:34} These are the families of Manasseh, and their number was fifty-two thousand seven hundred.
{26:35} Now the sons of Ephraim by their kinships were these: Shuthelah, from whom is the family of the Shuthelahites; Becher, from whom is the family of the Becherites; Tahan, from whom is the family of the Tahanites.
{26:36} Furthermore, the son of Shuthelah was Eran, from whom is the family of the Eranites.
{26:37} These are the kinships of the sons of Ephraim, whose number was thirty-two thousand five hundred.
{26:38} These are the sons of Joseph by their families: the sons of Benjamin in their kinships: Bela, from whom is the family of the Belaites; Ashbel, from whom is the family of the Ashbelites; Ahiram, from whom is the family of the Ahiramites;
{26:39} Shupham, from whom is the family of the Shuphamites; Hupham, from whom is the family of the Huphamites.
{26:40} The sons of Bela: Arad and Naaman. From Arad, the family of the Aradites; from Naaman, the family of the Naamanites.
{26:41} These are the sons of Benjamin by their kinships, whose number was forty-five thousand six hundred.
{26:42} The sons of Dan by their kinships: Shuham, from whom is the family of the Shuhamites. These are the kinships of Dan by their families.
{26:43} All these were Shuhamites, whose number was sixty-four thousand four hundred.
{26:44} The sons of Asher by their kinships: Imnah, from whom is the family of the Imnahites; Ishvi, from whom is the family of the Ishvites; Beriah, from whom is the family of the Beriahites.
{26:45} The sons of Beriah: Heber, from whom is the family of the Heberites; and Malchiel, from whom is the family of the Malchielites.
{26:46} Now the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.
{26:47} These are the kinships of the sons of Asher, and their number was fifty-three thousand four hundred.
{26:48} The sons of Naphtali by their kinships: Jahzeel, from whom is the family of the Jahzeelites; Guni, from whom is the family of the Gunites;
{26:49} Jezer, from whom is the family of the Jezerites; Shillem, from whom is the family of the Shillemites.
{26:50} These are the kinships of the sons of Naphtali by their families, whose number was forty-five thousand four hundred.
{26:51} This is the sum of the sons of Israel, who were counted: six hundred thousand and one thousand seven hundred thirty.
{26:52} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{26:53} “The land shall be divided to these, as their possessions, according to the number of their names.
{26:54} To the greater number you shall give a greater portion, and to the lesser number, a lesser portion. To each one, just as they have now been counted, a possession shall be delivered.
{26:55} Yet only in so far as the land is divided by lot to a tribe and to families.
{26:56} Whatever the lot will happen to be, it shall be accepted, either by the greater, or by the lesser.
{26:57} Likewise, this is the number of the sons of Levi by their families: Gershon, from whom is the family of the Gershonites; Kohath, from whom is the family of the Kohathites; Merari, from whom is the family of the Merarites.
{26:58} These are the families of Levi: The family of Libni, the family of Hebroni, the family of Mahli, the family of Mushi, the family of Korah. Yet truly, Kohath conceived Amram,
{26:59} who had a wife, Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to him in Egypt. She bore, to her husband Amram: sons, Aaron and Moses, as well as their sister, Miriam.
{26:60} From Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, and Eleazar and Ithamar.
{26:61} Of these, Nadab and Abihu died, when they had offered strange fire before the Lord.
{26:62} And these were all who were numbered: twenty-three thousand of the male gender, from one month and above. For they were not counted among the sons of Israel, neither was a possession given to them with the others.
{26:63} This is the number of the sons of Israel, who were enrolled by Moses and by Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
{26:64} Among these, not one of them was numbered before, by Moses and Aaron in the desert of Sinai.
{26:65} For the Lord had foretold that all would die in the wilderness. And not one of them remained, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
{27:1} Then there approached the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph: and their names are Mahlah, and Noa, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
{27:2} And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people, at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and they said:
{27:3} “Our father died in the desert, and was not with the sedition, which was stirred up against the Lord under Korah, but he died in his own sin; he had no male sons. Why is his name taken away from his family, because he had no son? Give us a possession among the kinsmen of our father.”
{27:4} And Moses referred their case to the judgment of the Lord.
{27:5} And the Lord said to him:
{27:6} “The daughters of Zelophehad are asking for something just. So give them a possession among the kinsmen of their father, and let them succeed him in his inheritance.
{27:7} And to the sons of Israel, you shall speak these things:
{27:8} When a man dies without a son, his inheritance shall be transferred to his daughter.
{27:9} If he has no daughter, his brothers shall succeed him.
{27:10} But if there were also no brothers, you shall give the inheritance to the brothers of his father.
{27:11} But if he has no paternal uncles, the inheritance shall be given to those who are closest to him. And this shall be, for the sons of Israel, consecrated as a perpetual law, just as the Lord has instructed Moses.”
{27:12} The Lord also said to Moses: “Ascend onto this mountain, Abarim, and contemplate from there the land, which I will give to the sons of Israel.
{27:13} And when you have seen it, you shall then go to your people, just as your brother Aaron went.
{27:14} For you offended me in the desert of Sin at the Contradiction of the multitude; neither were you willing to sanctify me in their sight over the waters. These are the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh in the desert of Sin.”
{27:15} Moses answered him:
{27:16} “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, provide a man, who may be over this multitude,
{27:17} and who may be able to exit and enter before them, and who may lead them out or lead them in: lest the people of the Lord be like sheep without a shepherd.”
{27:18} And the Lord said to him: “Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom the Spirit is, and place your hand upon him.
{27:19} And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire multitude.
{27:20} And you shall give him the precepts in the sight of all, and a portion of your glory, so that the entire congregation of the sons of Israel may listen to him.
{27:21} On his behalf, if anything is to be done, Eleazar the priest shall consult the Lord. He, and all the sons of Israel with him, and the rest of the multitude, shall go out and enter in at his word.”
{27:22} Moses did just as the Lord had instructed. And when he had brought Joshua, he set him before Eleazar the priest, and before the entire gathering of the people.
{27:23} And imposing his hands upon his head, he repeated all that the Lord had commanded.
{28:1} The Lord also said to Moses:
{28:2} “Instruct the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: Offer my oblation and bread, and the incense of most sweet odor, at their proper times.
{28:3} These are the sacrifices which you must offer: Two immaculate one-year-old lambs each day as a perpetual holocaust.
{28:4} You shall offer one in morning, and the other in the evening,
{28:5} and the tenth part of an ephah of fine wheat flour, which has been sprinkled with the purest oil, and which has the measure of the fourth part of a hin.
{28:6} It is the continual holocaust which you offered at mount Sinai as a most sweet odor of incense to the Lord.
{28:7} And you shall offer a libation of wine, of the fourth part of a hin for each lamb, in the Sanctuary of the Lord.
{28:8} And you shall offer the other lamb similarly, in the evening, according to all the rites of the morning sacrifice and its libations, as an oblation of most sweet odor to the Lord.
{28:9} Then, on the Sabbath day, you shall offer two immaculate one-year-old lambs, and two tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, as sacrifice, as well as the libations
{28:10} that are usually poured out on each Sabbath as a perpetual holocaust.
{28:11} Then, on the first day of the month, you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord: two calves from the herd, one ram, seven immaculate one-year-old lambs,
{28:12} and three tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, as sacrifice, for each calf, and two tenths of fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, for each ram,
{28:13} and one tenth of fine wheat flour with oil, as a sacrifice, for each lamb. It is a holocaust of most sweet odor and also an incense to the Lord.
{28:14} Now these shall be the libations of wine, which are to be poured out for each victim: one half portion of a hin for each calf, one third for a ram, and one fourth for a lamb. This shall be the holocaust for all the months, as they succeed one another in the turning of the year.
{28:15} Likewise, a he-goat shall be offered to the Lord for sin, with the perpetual holocaust and its libations.
{28:16} Then, in the first month, the fourteenth day of the month shall be the Passover of the Lord.
{28:17} And the fifteenth day shall be a solemnity. For seven days, they shall eat unleavened bread.
{28:18} And the first day of these days shall be venerable and holy; you shall not do any servile work in it.
{28:19} And you shall offer the incense of a holocaust to the Lord, two calves from the herd, one ram, seven immaculate one-year-old lambs;
{28:20} and with each sacrifice, from fine wheat flour which has been sprinkled with oil, three tenths for each calf, and two tenths for each ram,
{28:21} and one tenth for each lamb, that is, for the seven lambs;
{28:22} and one he-goat for sin, as an expiation for you,
{28:23} aside from the morning holocaust, which you shall always offer.
{28:24} You shall do this on each day of the seven days, as fuel for the fire, and as a most sweet odor to the Lord, which shall rise up from the holocaust and from each of the libations.
{28:25} Likewise, the seventh day shall be very honored and holy for you. Any servile work, you shall not do in it.
{28:26} And also the day of the first-fruits, after the weeks have been fulfilled, when you shall offer new fruits to the Lord, shall be venerable and holy. You shall not do any servile work in it.
{28:27} And you shall offer a holocaust as a most sweet odor to the Lord: two calves from the herd, one ram, and seven immaculate one-year-old lambs,
{28:28} and also, as their sacrifices, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil, three tenths for each calf, two for each ram,
{28:29} one tenth for each lamb, which all together are seven lambs; likewise, a he-goat,
{28:30} which is slain for expiation, aside from the perpetual holocaust and its libations.
{28:31} You shall offer only what is immaculate, with their libations.”
{29:1} “Now the first day of the seventh month also shall be venerable and holy to you. In it, you shall not do any servile work, because it is the day of the sounding of the trumpets.
{29:2} And you shall offer a holocaust, as a most sweet odor to the Lord: one calf from the herd, one ram, and seven immaculate one-year-old lambs;
{29:3} and, as their sacrifices, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil: three tenths for each calf, two tenths for a ram,
{29:4} one tenth for a lamb, which all together are seven lambs;
{29:5} and a he-goat for sin, which is offered as an expiation for the people,
{29:6} aside from the holocaust of the first day of the month with its sacrifices, and the perpetual holocaust with the usual libations. By these same ceremonies, you shall offer incense as a most sweet odor to the Lord.
{29:7} Likewise, the tenth day of this seventh month shall be for you holy and venerable, and you shall afflict your souls. You shall do no servile work in it.
{29:8} And you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord, as a most sweet odor: one calf from the herd, one ram, seven immaculate one-year-old lambs;
{29:9} and for their sacrifices, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil: three tenths for each calf, two tenths for a ram,
{29:10} one tenth for each lamb, which are all together seven lambs;
{29:11} and a he-goat for sin, apart from those things which are usually offered for offenses as an expiation, and as a perpetual holocaust, with their sacrifice and libations.
{29:12} Yet truly, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, which shall be for you holy and venerable, you shall not do any servile work in it, but you shall celebrate a solemnity to the Lord for seven days.
{29:13} And you shall offer a holocaust, as a most sweet odor to the Lord: thirteen calves from the herd, two rams, fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs;
{29:14} and as their libations, fine wheat flour sprinkled with oil: three tenths for each calf, which is all together thirteen calves, and two tenths for each ram, that is, all together two rams,
{29:15} and one tenth for each lamb, which is all together fourteen lambs;
{29:16} and a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and its libation.
{29:17} On the next day, you shall offer twelve calves from the herd, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:18} And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:19} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and its libation.
{29:20} On the third day, you shall offer eleven calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:21} And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:22} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and its libation.
{29:23} On the fourth day, you shall offer ten calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:24} And the sacrifices and the libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:25} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and its sacrifice and libation.
{29:26} On the fifth day, you shall offer nine calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:27} And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:28} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and its sacrifice and libation.
{29:29} On the sixth day, you shall offer eight calves, two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:30} And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:31} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and its sacrifice and libation.
{29:32} On the seventh day, you shall offer seven calves, and two rams, and fourteen immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:33} And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:34} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and its sacrifice and libation.
{29:35} On the eighth day, which is most honored, you shall not do any servile work,
{29:36} offering a holocaust as a most sweet odor to the Lord: one calf, one ram, and seven immaculate one-year-old lambs.
{29:37} And the sacrifices and libations for each of the calves and the rams and the lambs, you shall celebrate according to the rite,
{29:38} with a he-goat for sin, apart from the perpetual holocaust, and its sacrifice and libation.
{29:39} These things you shall offer to the Lord in your solemnities, aside from the vowed and voluntary oblations, as a holocaust, as a sacrifice, as a libation, or as peace-offering victims.”
{30:1} And Moses explained to the sons of Israel all that the Lord had commanded him.
{30:2} And he said to the leaders of the tribes of the sons of Israel: “This is the word, which the Lord has instructed:
{30:3} If any man makes a vow to the Lord, or binds himself by an oath, he shall not make his word null and void, but all that he has promised, he shall fulfill.
{30:4} If a woman, who is in her father’s house, vows anything, or binds herself by an oath, and she is still in a state of childhood, if her father knew of the vow which she has promised or of the oath by which she has obligated her soul, and he kept silent, she shall be liable to the vow:
{30:5} whatever she has promised or swore, she shall complete in deed.
{30:6} But if her father, as soon as he had heard it, had contradicted it, both her vows and her oaths shall be nullified, neither shall she be held liable to the promise, because her father had contradicted it.
{30:7} If she has a husband, and she has vowed anything, then, once the word has gone out of her mouth, she will have obligated her soul by an oath.
{30:8} On the day that her husband will hear of it, and yet not contradict it, she shall be liable to the vow, and she shall repay whatever she has promised.
{30:9} But if, as soon as he hears it, he contradicts it, then he will have caused her promises, and the words by which she had bound her soul, to be null and void. The Lord will be favorable to her.
{30:10} Widows and divorced women shall repay whatever they have vowed.
{30:11} If a wife in the house of her husband has bound herself by a vow or an oath,
{30:12} if her husband heard it and remained silent, and he did not contradict the promise, she shall repay what she had promised.
{30:13} But if he promptly contradicts it, she shall not be held liable to the promise. For her husband has contradicted it. And the Lord will be favorable to her.
{30:14} If she has vowed or bound herself by oath, in order to afflict her soul by fasting, or by abstaining from other things, it shall be for the arbitration of her husband, as to whether or not she may do it.
{30:15} But if the husband, upon hearing it, remains silent, and he delays judgment until another day, whatever she had vowed or promised, she shall repay, because when he first heard it, he remained silent.
{30:16} And if he contradicted it only sometime after he had known about it, he shall bear his iniquity.”
{30:17} These are the laws which the Lord has appointed to Moses, between a husband and a wife, between a father and a daughter, who is still in the state of childhood or who remains in her father’s house.
{31:1} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{31:2} “First, avenge the sons of Israel from the Midianites, and then you shall be gathered to your people.”
{31:3} And immediately Moses said: “Arm the men among you for a battle, so that they may be able to fulfill the retribution of the Lord on the Midianites.
{31:4} Let one thousand men be chosen from each tribe of Israel, who shall be sent to war.”
{31:5} And they gave one thousand from each tribe, that is, twelve thousand foot soldiers for battle.
{31:6} And Moses sent them with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest; also, he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.
{31:7} And when they had fought against the Midianites and had prevailed, they killed all the men.
{31:8} And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor.
{31:9} And they seized their women and little ones, and all their cattle, and all their goods; whatever they were able to have, they despoiled.
{31:10} Both their cities and their villages, as well as their fortresses, they burned.
{31:11} And they carried away prey from everything that they had seized, both of men and of beasts.
{31:12} And they led these to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the sons of Israel. But the remainder of the articles they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
{31:13} Then Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the assembly went out to meet them beyond the camp.
{31:14} And Moses, being angry with the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions, who had arrived from the battle,
{31:15} said: “Why have you spared the females?
{31:16} Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down?
{31:17} Therefore, put to death all of them: whatever is of the male sex, even among the little ones, and cut the throats of those women who have known men by sexual relations.
{31:18} But the young girls, and all female virgins, reserve for yourselves.
{31:19} And remain beyond the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed a man, or who has touched one that was killed, shall be purified on the third day and on the seventh day.
{31:20} And all of the spoils, whether it is a garment, or a vessel, or another useful thing, made from the pelts or hair of goats, or from wood, shall be expiated.”
{31:21} Likewise, Eleazar the priest spoke in this manner to the men of the army who had fought: “This is the precept of the law, which the Lord has commanded Moses:
{31:22} Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,
{31:23} and all that may be able to pass through fire, shall be purified by fire. But whatever is not able to sustain fire shall be sanctified with the waters of expiation.
{31:24} And you shall wash your garments on the seventh day, and, after having been purified, you shall enter the camp.”
{31:25} And the Lord also said to Moses:
{31:26} “Take the sum of those things which were captured, from man even to beast, you and Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the common people.
{31:27} And you shall divide the prey equally, among those who went out to war and fought, and among the remainder of the multitude.
{31:28} And you shall separate a portion for the Lord from the portion of those who fought and were in the battle: one soul out of five hundred, as much from humans, as from oxen and donkeys and sheep.
{31:29} And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, because these are the first-fruits of the Lord.
{31:30} Likewise, from the half of the portion belonging to the sons of Israel, you shall receive the fiftieth head of humans, and of oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and of all living things, and you shall give these to the Levites who stand watch over the care of the tabernacle of the Lord.”
{31:31} And Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had instructed.
{31:32} Now the prey which the army had seized was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
{31:33} seventy-two thousand oxen,
{31:34} sixty-one thousand donkeys,
{31:35} and thirty-two thousand human lives, of the female sex, who had not known men.
{31:36} And one half of the portion was given to those who had been in the battle: three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep.
{31:37} From these, for the portion of the Lord, there were accounted: six hundred seventy-five sheep;
{31:38} and from the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen;
{31:39} from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, sixty-one donkeys.
{31:40} From the sixteen thousand human souls, there fell to the portion of the Lord thirty-two souls.
{31:41} And Moses delivered the number of the first-fruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, just as had been commanded of him,
{31:42} from the one half portion belonging to the sons of Israel, which he had separated from the portion of those who had been in the battle.
{31:43} Yet truly, from the one half portion which fell to the remainder of the multitude, that is, from the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,
{31:44} and from the thirty-six thousand oxen,
{31:45} and from the thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,
{31:46} and from the sixteen thousand persons,
{31:47} Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites who stand watch at the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had instructed.
{31:48} And when the leaders of the army, and the tribunes, and the centurions had approached Moses, they said:
{31:49} “We, your servants, have taken a census of the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and indeed not one was lacking.
{31:50} For this reason, we offer as gifts to the Lord whatever gold each one was able to find amid the spoils, in anklets and arm bands, rings and bracelets, and little chains, so that you may intercede for us to the Lord.”
{31:51} And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in its various kinds,
{31:52} weighing sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels, from the tribunes and the centurions.
{31:53} For whatever each one had taken away in the spoils was his own.
{31:54} And having been accepted, they took it into the tabernacle of the testimony, as a memorial of the sons of Israel before the Lord.
{32:1} Now the sons of Ruben and of Gad had many herds, and their substance in cattle was inestimable. And when they had seen that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for feeding animals,
{32:2} they went to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the multitude, and they said:
{32:3} “Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
{32:4} the land, which the Lord has struck in the sight of the sons of Israel, is a very fertile region for pasturing animals. And we, your servants, have very many cattle.
{32:5} And so we beseech you, if we have found favor before you, that you give it to us, your subjects, as a possession, and that you not cause us cross the Jordan.”
{32:6} And Moses answered them: “Should your brothers go to battle, while you sit here?
{32:7} Why do you subvert the minds of the sons of Israel, so that they might not dare to cross into the place which the Lord will give to them?
{32:8} Did not your fathers act in the same way, when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to explore the land?
{32:9} And when they had gone all the way to the Valley of the Cluster of Grapes, having viewed the entire region, they subverted the hearts of the sons of Israel, so that they would not enter into the parts that the Lord gave to them.
{32:10} And being angry, the Lord swore an oath, saying:
{32:11} ‘These men, who ascended out of Egypt, from twenty years and above, will not see the land, which I have promised under an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For they were not willing to follow me,
{32:12} except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; these have fulfilled my will.’
{32:13} And the Lord, being angry against Israel, led them in a course through the desert for forty years, until the entire generation, which had done evil in his sight, was consumed.
{32:14} And behold,” he said, “you have risen up in the place of your fathers, the offshoots and the nurslings of sinful men, in order to augment the fury of the Lord against Israel.
{32:15} But if you are not willing to follow him, he will leave the people behind in the wilderness, and you will have been the cause of all our deaths.”
{32:16} But approaching closer, they said: “We will manufacture sheep pens and cattle stalls, as well as fortified cities, for our little ones.
{32:17} But we ourselves will continue on, armed and girded for battle, before the sons of Israel, until we lead them to their places. Our little ones, and whatever we may be able to have, shall be in walled cities, because of the treachery of the inhabitants.
{32:18} We will not return to our houses, even until the sons of Israel may possess their inheritance.
{32:19} Neither will we seek anything across the Jordan, because we already have our possession on its eastern side.”
{32:20} And Moses said to them: “If you accomplish what you have promised, you may go out, equipped for battle, before the Lord.
{32:21} And let every fighting man cross over the Jordan, until the Lord overthrows his enemies,
{32:22} and all the land is subjected to him. Then you will be guiltless with the Lord and with Israel, and you will obtain the regions which you desire before the Lord.
{32:23} But if you do not do what you have said, no one could doubt that you will have sinned against God. And know this: your sin shall overtake you.
{32:24} Therefore, build cities for your little ones, and pens and stables for your sheep and cattle; and fulfill what you have promised.”
{32:25} And the sons of Gad and of Ruben said to Moses: “We are your servants, we shall do what you, our ruler, orders.
{32:26} We will leave behind our little ones, and our wives, and the sheep and cattle, in the cities of Gilead.
{32:27} And we, your servants, all well-equipped, will go forth to battle, just as you, our ruler, has spoken.”
{32:28} Therefore, Moses instructed Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes of the families throughout the tribes of Israel, and he said to them:
{32:29} “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben cross over the Jordan with you, all armed for war before the Lord, and if the land becomes subject to you, give them Gilead as a possession.
{32:30} But if they are not willing to cross with you, armed, into the land of Canaan, then let them receive places among you for their dwellings.”
{32:31} And the sons of Gad and the sons of Ruben responded: “Just as the Lord has spoken to his servants, so shall we do.
{32:32} We will go forth, armed, before the Lord into the land of Canaan; and we acknowledge that we have already received our possession across the Jordan.”
{32:33} And so, Moses gave to the sons of Gad and of Ruben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and their land with its surrounding cities.
{32:34} Therefore, the sons of Gad built up Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
{32:35} and Atroth and Shophan, and Jazer, and Jogbehah,
{32:36} and Beth-Nimrah, and Beth-Haran, as fortified cities with pens for their cattle.
{32:37} Yet truly, the sons of Ruben built up Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,
{32:38} and Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names having been changed) and Sibmah, appointing names for the cities which they had built.
{32:39} Moreover, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, continued on within Gilead, and they devastated it, putting to death its inhabitant, the Amorite.
{32:40} Therefore, Moses gave the land of Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it.
{32:41} But Jair, the son of Manasseh, went out and occupied its villages, which he called Havoth Jair, that is, the Villages of Jair.
{32:42} Likewise, Nobah went forth and captured Kenath with its villages. And he called it by his own name, Nobah.
{33:1} These are the lodging places of the sons of Israel, who departed from Egypt by their companies under the hand of Moses and Aaron,
{33:2} which Moses wrote down according to the places of the encampments, which they changed upon the order of the Lord.
{33:3} Thus the sons of Israel set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the Passover, with an exalted hand, being seen by all the Egyptians.
{33:4} And these were burying their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down (for so, too, did he carry out retribution against their gods).
{33:5} And they made camp at Soccoth.
{33:6} And from Soccoth they went to Etham, which is at the furthest limits of the wilderness.
{33:7} Departing from there, they arrived opposite Pi-hahiroth, which looks out toward Baal-zephon, and they were encamped before Migdol.
{33:8} And setting out from Pi-hahiroth, they crossed through the middle of the Sea into the wilderness. And having walked for three days through the desert of Etham, they made camp at Marah.
{33:9} And setting out from Marah, they arrived at Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees. And they set up camp there.
{33:10} But departing from there also, they fixed their tents above the Red Sea. And setting out from the Red Sea,
{33:11} they were encamped in the desert of Sin.
{33:12} Departing from there, they went to Dophkah.
{33:13} And setting out from Dophkah, they made camp at Alush.
{33:14} And departing from Alush, they fixed their tents at Rephidim, where the people lacked water to drink.
{33:15} And setting out from Rephidim, they camped in the desert of Sinai.
{33:16} But departing also from the wilderness of the Sinai, they arrived at the Graves of Lust.
{33:17} And setting out from the Graves of Lust, they were encamped at Hazeroth.
{33:18} And from Hazeroth, they went to Rithmah.
{33:19} And setting out from Rithmah, they made camp at Rimmon-perez.
{33:20} And departing from there, they arrived at Libnah.
{33:21} From Libnah, they made camp at Rissah.
{33:22} And departing from Rissah, they went to Kehelathah.
{33:23} Setting out from there, they were encamped at mount Shepher.
{33:24} Departing from mount Shepher, they went to Haradah.
{33:25} Continuing on from there, they made camp at Makheloth.
{33:26} And setting out from Makheloth, they went to Tahath.
{33:27} From Tahath, they made camp at Terah.
{33:28} Departing from there, they pitched their tents at Mithkah.
{33:29} And from Mithkah, they were encamped at Hashmonah.
{33:30} And setting out from Hashmonah, they went to Moseroth.
{33:31} And from Moseroth, they made camp at Bene-jaakan.
{33:32} And setting out from Bene-jaakan, they went to mount Gidgad.
{33:33} Setting out from there, they were encamped at Jotbathah.
{33:34} And from Jotbathah, they went to Abronah.
{33:35} And departing from Abronah, they made camp at Eziongeber.
{33:36} Setting out from there, they went into the desert of Sin, which is Kadesh.
{33:37} And departing from Kadesh, they encamped at mount Hor, at the furthermost limits of the land of Edom.
{33:38} And Aaron the priest ascended onto mount Hor, by the order of the Lord. And there he died, in the fortieth year of the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month,
{33:39} when he was one hundred twenty-three years old.
{33:40} And king Arad the Canaanite, who lived toward the south, heard that the sons of Israel had arrived in the land of Canaan.
{33:41} And setting out from mount Hor, they made camp at Zalmonah.
{33:42} Departing from there, they went to Punon.
{33:43} And setting out from Punon, they were encamped at Oboth.
{33:44} And from Oboth, they went to Iye-abarim, which is at the borders of the Moabites.
{33:45} And setting out from Iye-abarim, they fixed their tents at Dibon-gad.
{33:46} Departing from there, they made camp at Almon-diblathaim.
{33:47} And departing from Almon-diblathaim, they went to the mountains of Abarim, opposite Nebo.
{33:48} And setting out from the mountains of Abarim, they crossed over to the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.
{33:49} And they made camp there, from Beth-jeshimoth all the way to Abel-shittim, in the level places of the Moabites,
{33:50} where the Lord said to Moses:
{33:51} “Instruct the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you will have crossed over the Jordan, entering into the land of Canaan,
{33:52} destroy all the inhabitants of that land. Break their monuments, and shatter their statues, and lay waste to every exalted thing,
{33:53} cleansing the land and living in it. For I have given it you as a possession,
{33:54} which you shall divide among you by lot. To the greater number you shall give more, and to the lesser number, less. To each one, just as the lot shall fall, so shall the inheritance be distributed. The possession shall be divided by the tribes and families.
{33:55} But if you are not willing to put to death the inhabitants of the land, those who remain shall be to you like spikes in your eyes and lances in your sides, and they shall be adversaries to you in the land of your habitation.
{33:56} And whatever I had decided to do to them, I will do to you.”
{34:1} And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
{34:2} “Instruct the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land of Canaan, and it has fallen into your possession by lot, it shall be bound by these limits:
{34:3} The southern part shall begin from the wilderness of Sin, which is next to Edom, and it shall have the Sea of Salt as a limit to the east.
{34:4} It shall circle on the south side along the ascent of the Scorpion, by this way crossing into Senna, and passing through, from the south, as far as Kadesh-barnea, from which its confines shall go out to the town called Adar, and extend even to Azmon.
{34:5} And its limits shall go around from Azmon to the Torrent of Egypt, and shall end at the shore of the Great Sea.
{34:6} Then the western region shall begin from the Great Sea, and the same shall be its end.
{34:7} Furthermore, toward the northern region, its limits shall begin from the Great Sea, passing through even to the highest mountain.
{34:8} From there, it limits shall advance into Hamath, as far as the limits of Zedad.
{34:9} And its confines shall go all the way to Ziphron, and to the village of Enan. These shall be the limits on the northern side.
{34:10} From there, its limits shall be measured, facing the east side, from the village of Enan as far as Shepham.
{34:11} And from Shepham, the boundaries shall descend into Riblah, opposite the fountain of Daphnis. From there, the boundaries shall pass through, opposite the east, to the Sea of Chinnereth,
{34:12} and shall extend as far as the Jordan, and, at the furthest extent, shall be enclosed by the Sea of Salt. You shall have this land, with its borders all around.”
{34:13} And Moses instructed the sons of Israel, saying: “This shall be the land which you shall possess by lot, and which the Lord has ordered to be given to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe.
{34:14} For the tribe of the sons of Ruben, by their families, and the tribe of the sons of Gad, according to the number of their kinships, and also one half of the tribe of Manasseh,
{34:15} that is, two and a half tribes, have received their portion across the Jordan, opposite Jericho, toward the eastern side.”
{34:16} And the Lord said to Moses:
{34:17} “These are the names of the men, who shall divide the land for you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun,
{34:18} and one leader from each tribe,
{34:19} whose names are these: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
{34:20} from the tribe of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud;
{34:21} from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon;
{34:22} from the tribe of the sons of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli;
{34:23} of the sons of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod;
{34:24} from the tribe of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan;
{34:25} from the tribe of Zebulon, Elizaphan the son of Parnach;
{34:26} from the tribe of Issachar, Paltiel the leader, the son of Azzan;
{34:27} from the tribe of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi;
{34:28} from the tribe of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”
{34:29} These are the ones that the Lord has ordered to divide the land of Canaan to the sons of Israel.
{35:1} And the Lord also spoke these things to Moses in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho:
{35:2} “Instruct the sons of Israel, so that they may give to the Levites, from their possessions,
{35:3} cities as dwelling places, with their surrounding suburbs, so that they may lodge in the towns, and so that the suburbs may be for cattle and beasts of burden.
{35:4} The suburbs shall extend from the outer walls of the cities, all around, for the space of one thousand steps.
{35:5} Facing the east, there shall be two thousand cubits, and facing the south, similarly, there shall be two thousand cubits. Toward the sea, also, which looks out toward the west, there shall be the same measure, and the northern region shall be bounded by equal limits. And the cities shall be in the center, and the suburbs shall be outside.
{35:6} Now, from the towns which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for the assistance of fugitives, so that he who has shed blood may flee to them. And, aside from these, there shall be forty-two other towns,
{35:7} that is, all together forty-eight with their suburbs.
{35:8} And concerning these cities, which shall be given from the possessions of the sons of Israel: from those who have more, more shall be taken, and from those who have less, less shall be taken. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the measure of their inheritance.”
{35:9} The Lord said to Moses:
{35:10} “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
{35:11} discern which cities ought to be for the protection of fugitives who have shed blood unwillingly.
{35:12} And when a fugitive is in these, the kinsman of the deceased shall not be able to kill him, until he stands in the sight of the multitude and his case is judged.
{35:13} Then, among those cities which are separated for relief to fugitives,
{35:14} three shall be across the Jordan, and three in the land of Canaan,
{35:15} as much for the sons of Israel as for newcomers and sojourners, so that anyone who has shed blood unwillingly may flee to these places.
{35:16} If anyone will have struck someone with iron, and he who was struck will have died, then he shall be guilty of homicide, and he himself shall die.
{35:17} If he will have thrown a stone, and he who has been struck lies dead, then he shall be punished similarly.
{35:18} If he who has been struck with wood passes away, he shall be avenged by the blood of the one who struck him.
{35:19} The close relative of the deceased shall put to death the murderer; as soon as he apprehends him, he shall put him to death.
{35:20} If, out of hatred, anyone assaults a man, or throws anything at him with ill intent,
{35:21} or, while being his enemy, strikes him with his hand, and so he has died, the attacker shall be guilty of murder. The kinsman of the deceased, as soon as he finds him, shall cut his throat.
{35:22} But if by chance, and without hatred
{35:23} or animosity, he will have done any of these things,
{35:24} and this has been proven in the hearing of the people, and the questions have been aired, between the one who struck and the close relative,
{35:25} then the innocent one shall be freed from the hand of the revenger, and he shall be returned by this judgment into the city to which he had fled, and he shall stay there until the high priest, who has been anointed with the holy oil, dies.
{35:26} If the one who has killed has been found beyond the limits of the cities which have been assigned to the exiled,
{35:27} and he has been struck by him who is avenging blood, he who killed him shall not be harmed.
{35:28} For the fugitive ought to have resided in the city, until the death of the high priest. Then, after he is dead, the one who has killed shall be returned to his own land.
{35:29} These things shall be a perpetual ordinance in all your habitations.
{35:30} The punishment of a murderer shall be based upon testimony; but no one shall be condemned upon the testimony of only one person.
{35:31} You shall not accept money from him who is guilty of blood, and he shall be put to death promptly.
{35:32} Exiles and fugitives, prior to the death of the high priest, are by no means able to be returned to their own cities.
{35:33} Do not pollute the land of your habitation, so as to stain it with the blood of the innocent; neither is it able to be expiated in any way other than by the blood of him who has shed the blood of another.
{35:34} And so shall your possession be cleansed, while I myself am abiding with you. For I am the Lord, who lives among the sons of Israel.”
{36:1} Then the leaders of the families of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the stock of the sons of Joseph, approached and spoke to Moses before the leaders of Israel, and they said:
{36:2} “The Lord has instructed you, our ruler, so that you would divide the land by lot to the sons of Israel, and so that you would give to the daughters of Zelophehad, our brother, the possession owed to their father.
{36:3} But if men of another tribe receive them as wives, their possession will follow them, and having been transferred to another tribe, there will be a reduction in our inheritance.
{36:4} And so it may be that, when the Jubilee of remission, that is, the fiftieth year, has arrived, the distribution by lots shall be confounded, and the possession of the one shall be transferred to others.”
{36:5} Moses answered the sons of Israel, and, at the instruction of the Lord, he said: “The tribe of the sons of Joseph has spoken correctly.
{36:6} And so, this is the law which has been promulgated by the Lord about the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry whomever they may wish, but only among the men of their own tribe,
{36:7} lest the possession of the sons of Israel become commingled, from tribe to tribe. For all men shall take wives from their own tribe and kinship;
{36:8} and all women shall take husbands from their same tribe, so that the inheritance may remain within the families,
{36:9} and so that the tribes may not be mingled together, but may remain such as they were separated by the Lord.”
{36:10} And the daughters of Zelophehad acted according to what was ordered.
{36:11} And Mahlah, and Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noa were wed to the sons of their paternal uncle,
{36:12} from the family of Manasseh, who was a son of Joseph. And the possession which had been distributed to them remained in the tribe and family of their father.
{36:13} These are the commandments and judgments which the Lord ordered by the hand of Moses to the sons of Israel, in the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.