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Numbers 24; Numbers 25; Numbers 26; Numbers 27; Numbers 28; Numbers 29; Numbers 30; Numbers 31; Numbers 32; Numbers 33; Numbers 34; Numbers 35; Numbers 36; Deuteronomy 1

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Numbers 24

1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,
3 and he took up his discourse and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered:
5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!
6 Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.
7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you."
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times.
11 Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, 'I will certainly honor you,' but the LORD has held you back from honor."
12 And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me,
13 'If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak'?
14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days."
15 And he took up his discourse and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered:
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
18 Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly.
19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!"
20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, "Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction."
21 And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock.
22 Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned when Asshur takes you away captive."
23 And he took up his discourse and said, "Alas, who shall live when God does this?
24 But ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asshur and Eber; and he too shall come to utter destruction."
25 Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 25

1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.
2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.
3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
4 And the LORD said to Moses, "Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel."
5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor."
6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand
8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped.
9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
10 And the LORD said to Moses,
11 "Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Therefore say, 'Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace,
13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.'"
14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites.
15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.
16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
17 "Harass the Midianites and strike them down,
18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 26

1 After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest,
2 "Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war."
3 And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
4 "Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and upward," as the LORD commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:
5 Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the clan of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the clan of the Palluites;
6 of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the clan of the Carmites.
7 These are the clans of the Reubenites, and those listed were 43,730.
8 And the sons of Pallu: Eliab.
9 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram, chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD
10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning.
11 But the sons of Korah did not die.
12 The sons of Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites;
13 of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites.
14 These are the clans of the Simeonites, 22,200.
15 The sons of Gad according to their clans: of Zephon, the clan of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the clan of the Haggites; of Shuni, the clan of the Shunites;
16 of Ozni, the clan of the Oznites; of Eri, the clan of the Erites;
17 of Arod, the clan of the Arodites; of Areli, the clan of the Arelites.
18 These are the clans of the sons of Gad as they were listed, 40,500.
19 The sons of Judah were Er and Onan; and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
20 And the sons of Judah according to their clans were: of Shelah, the clan of the Shelanites; of Perez, the clan of the Perezites; of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites.
21 And the sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the clan of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the clan of the Hamulites.
22 These are the clans of Judah as they were listed, 76,500.
23 The sons of Issachar according to their clans: of Tola, the clan of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the clan of the Punites;
24 of Jashub, the clan of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the clan of the Shimronites.
25 These are the clans of Issachar as they were listed, 64,300.
26 The sons of Zebulun, according to their clans: of Sered, the clan of the Seredites; of Elon, the clan of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the clan of the Jahleelites.
27 These are the clans of the Zebulunites as they were listed, 60,500.
28 The sons of Joseph according to their clans: Manasseh and Ephraim.
29 The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the clan of the Machirites; and Machir was the father of Gilead; of Gilead, the clan of the Gileadites.
30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Iezer, the clan of the Iezerites; of Helek, the clan of the Helekites;
31 and of Asriel, the clan of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the clan of the Shechemites;
32 and of Shemida, the clan of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the clan of the Hepherites.
33 Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
34 These are the clans of Manasseh, and those listed were 52,700.
35 These are the sons of Ephraim according to their clans: of Shuthelah, the clan of the Shuthelahites; of Becher, the clan of the Becherites; of Tahan, the clan of the Tahanites.
36 And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the clan of the Eranites.
37 These are the clans of the sons of Ephraim as they were listed, 32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their clans.
38 The sons of Benjamin according to their clans: of Bela, the clan of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the clan of the Ashbelites; of Ahiram, the clan of the Ahiramites;
39 of Shephupham, the clan of the Shuphamites; of Hupham, the clan of the Huphamites.
40 And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the clan of the Ardites; of Naaman, the clan of the Naamites.
41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their clans, and those listed were 45,600.
42 These are the sons of Dan according to their clans: of Shuham, the clan of the Shuhamites. These are the clans of Dan according to their clans.
43 All the clans of the Shuhamites, as they were listed, were 64,400.
44 The sons of Asher according to their clans: of Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the clan of the Beriites.
45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites.
46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.
47 These are the clans of the sons of Asher as they were listed, 53,400.
48 The sons of Naphtali according to their clans: of Jahzeel, the clan of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the clan of the Gunites;
49 of Jezer, the clan of the Jezerites; of Shillem, the clan of the Shillemites.
50 These are the clans of Naphtali according to their clans, and those listed were 45,400.
51 This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.
52 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
53 "Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names.
54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list.
55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller."
57 This was the list of the Levites according to their clans: of Gershon, the clan of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the clan of the Kohathites; of Merari, the clan of the Merarites.
58 These are the clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites. And Kohath was the father of Amram.
59 The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister.
60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD.
62 And those listed were 23,000, every male from a month old and upward. For they were not listed among the people of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the people of Israel.
63 These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
65 For the LORD had said of them, "They shall die in the wilderness." Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 27

1 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying,
3 "Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons.
4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father's brothers."
5 Moses brought their case before the LORD.
6 And the LORD said to Moses,
7 "The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father's brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.
8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.
9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers.
10 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers.
11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the LORD commanded Moses.'"
12 The LORD said to Moses, "Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel.
13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was,
14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes." (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
15 Moses spoke to the LORD, saying,
16 "Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd."
18 So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.
19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.
20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.
21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation."
22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation,
23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 28

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Command the people of Israel and say to them, 'My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.'
3 And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering.
4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight;
5 also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil.
6 It is a regular burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
7 Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD.
8 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Like the grain offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
9 "On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering:
10 this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
11 "At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish;
12 also three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull, and two tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram;
13 and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year.
15 Also one male goat for a sin offering to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
16 "On the fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD's Passover,
17 and on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast. Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.
18 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work,
19 but offer a food offering, a burnt offering to the LORD: two bulls from the herd, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; see that they are without blemish;
20 also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths of an ephah shall you offer for a bull, and two tenths for a ram;
21 a tenth shall you offer for each of the seven lambs;
22 also one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.
23 You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offering.
24 In the same way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
25 And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work.
26 "On the day of the firstfruits, when you offer a grain offering of new grain to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work,
27 but offer a burnt offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old;
28 also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each bull, two tenths for one ram,
29 a tenth for each of the seven lambs;
30 with one male goat, to make atonement for you.
31 Besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall offer them and their drink offering. See that they are without blemish.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 29

1 "On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets,
2 and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a pleasing aroma to the LORD: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish;
3 also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the ram,
4 and one tenth for each of the seven lambs;
5 with one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you;
6 besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its grain offering, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offering, according to the rule for them, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
7 "On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work,
8 but you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: see that they are without blemish.
9 And their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the one ram,
10 a tenth for each of the seven lambs:
11 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
12 "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days.
13 And you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD, thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; they shall be without blemish;
14 and their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams,
15 and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs;
16 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.
17 "On the second day twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,
18 with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
19 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20 "On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,
21 with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
22 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
23 "On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,
24 with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
25 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.
26 "On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,
27 with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
28 also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
29 "On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,
30 with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
31 also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offerings.
32 "On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without blemish,
33 with the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
34 also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
35 "On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly. You shall not do any ordinary work,
36 but you shall offer a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without blemish,
37 and the grain offering and the drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, in the prescribed quantities;
38 also one male goat for a sin offering; besides the regular burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.
39 "These you shall offer to the LORD at your appointed feasts, in addition to your vow offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your grain offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings."
40 So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 30

1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, "This is what the LORD has commanded.
2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
3 "If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth,
4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.
5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her.
6 "If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself,
7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.
8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her.
9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.)
10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath,
11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.
12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her.
13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void.
14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them.
15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity."
16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's house.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 31

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."
3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian.
4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war."
5 So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
7 They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male.
8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
9 And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.
10 All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,
11 and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast.
12 Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.
14 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
15 Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?
16 Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
19 Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats' hair, and every article of wood."
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: "This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded Moses:
22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp."
25 The LORD said to Moses,
26 "Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation,
27 and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.
28 And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD.
30 And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD."
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep,
33 72,000 cattle,
34 61,000 donkeys,
35 and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.
36 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep,
37 and the LORD's tribute of sheep was 675.
38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 72.
39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD's tribute was 61.
40 The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 32 persons.
41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army--
43 now the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep,
44 36,000 cattle,
45 and 30,500 donkeys,
46 and 16,000 persons--
47 from the people of Israel's half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses
49 and said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.
50 And we have brought the LORD's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD."
51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles.
52 And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.
53 (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.)
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 32

1 Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock.
2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation,
3 "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
4 the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock."
5 And they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan."
6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?
7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them?
8 Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the LORD had given them.
10 And the LORD's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying,
11 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me,
12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.'
13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.
14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel!
15 For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people."
16 Then they came near to him and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,
17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east."
20 So Moses said to them, "If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the LORD for the war,
21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him
22 and the land is subdued before the LORD; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.
24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised."
25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, "Your servants will do as my lord commands.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead,
27 but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord orders."
28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel.
29 And Moses said to them, "If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession.
30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan."
31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, "What the LORD has said to your servants, we will do.
32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan."
33 And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country.
34 And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,
36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep.
37 And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,
38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built.
39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.
40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it.
41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.
42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 33

1 These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
2 Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places.
3 They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,
4 while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them. On their gods also the LORD executed judgments.
5 So the people of Israel set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.
6 And they set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
7 And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.
8 And they set out from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and they went a three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
9 And they set out from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
10 And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11 And they set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin.
12 And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
13 And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14 And they set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15 And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.
16 And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.
17 And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18 And they set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19 And they set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
20 And they set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
21 And they set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22 And they set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23 And they set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24 And they set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25 And they set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26 And they set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27 And they set out from Tahath and camped at Terah.
28 And they set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
29 And they set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
30 And they set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31 And they set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.
32 And they set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
33 And they set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34 And they set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35 And they set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
36 And they set out from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).
37 And they set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.
38 And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the LORD and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.
39 And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.
41 And they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42 And they set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43 And they set out from Punon and camped at Oboth.
44 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab.
45 And they set out from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.
46 And they set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.
47 And they set out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48 And they set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho;
49 they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.
50 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
51 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places.
53 And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.
54 You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.
55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 34

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders),
3 your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.
4 And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon.
5 And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.
6 "For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border.
7 "This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor.
8 From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad.
9 Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.
10 "You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham.
11 And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east.
12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around."
13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, "This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe.
14 For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers' houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers' houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh.
15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise."
16 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
17 "These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.
18 You shall take one chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance.
19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20 Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli.
23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
29 These are the men whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 35

1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
2 "Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities.
3 The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts.
4 The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.
5 And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.
6 "The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.
7 All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands.
8 And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites."
9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
10 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
13 And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge.
14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
16 "But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
21 or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow 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 he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait
23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,
24 then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled,
27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.
28 For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
29 And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
30 "If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
31 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death.
32 And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest.
33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Numbers 36

1 The heads of the fathers' houses of the clan of the people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel.
2 They said, "The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.
3 But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance.
4 And when the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."
5 And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, "The tribe of the people of Joseph is right.
6 This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, 'Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.
7 The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers.
9 So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.'"
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses,
11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father's brothers.
12 They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's clan.
13 These are the commandments and the rules that the LORD commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.

Deuteronomy 1

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them,
4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei.
5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying,
6 "The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.'
9 "At that time I said to you, 'I am not able to bear you by myself.
10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven.
11 May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!
12 How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife?
13 Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.'
14 And you answered me, 'The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.'
15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes.
16 And I charged your judges at that time, 'Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him.
17 You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.'
18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
19 "Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20 And I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
21 See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.'
22 Then all of you came near me and said, 'Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.'
23 The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe.
24 And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out.
25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, 'It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.'
26 "Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.
27 And you murmured in your tents and said, 'Because the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.
28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."'
29 Then I said to you, 'Do not be in dread or afraid of them.
30 The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.'
32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God,
33 who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.
34 "And the LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore,
35 'Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers,
36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD!'
37 Even with me the LORD was angry on your account and said, 'You also shall not go in there.
38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
39 And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
40 But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.'
41 "Then you answered me, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country.
42 And the LORD said to me, 'Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.'
43 So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
44 Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.
45 And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to your voice or give ear to you.
46 So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.