Numbers 8; Numbers 9; Numbers 10

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Numbers 8

1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 "Tell Aaron that when he puts the seven lamps on the lampstand, he should place them so that the light shines toward the front."
3 Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps facing the front of the lampstand.
4 From top to bottom the lampstand was made of hammered gold, according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses.
5 The Lord said to Moses,
6 "Separate the Levites from the rest of the people of Israel and purify them
7 in the following way: sprinkle them with the water of purification and have them shave their whole bodies and have them wash their clothes. Then they will be ritually clean.
8 Then they are to take a young bull and the required grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil; and you are to take another bull for the sin offering.
9 Then assemble the whole community of Israel and have the Levites stand in front of the Tent of my presence.
10 The people of Israel are to place their hands on the heads of the Levites,
11 and then Aaron shall dedicate the Levites to me as a special gift from the Israelites, so that they may do my work.
12 The Levites shall then put their hands on the heads of the two bulls; one is to be offered as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, in order to perform the ritual of purification for the Levites.
13 "Dedicate the Levites as a special gift to me, and put Aaron and his sons in charge of them.
14 Separate the Levites in this way from the rest of the Israelites, so that they will belong to me.
15 After you have purified and dedicated the Levites, they will be qualified to work in the Tent.
16 I have claimed them in the place of all the first-born sons of the Israelites, and they belong to me alone.
17 When I killed all the first-born in Egypt, I consecrated as my own the oldest son of each Israelite family and the first-born of every animal.
18 I am now taking the Levites instead of all the first-born of the Israelites,
19 and I assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons, as a gift from the Israelites, to work in the Tent for the people of Israel and to protect the Israelites from the disaster that would strike them if they came too near the Holy Place."
20 So Moses, Aaron, and all the people of Israel dedicated the Levites, as the Lord commanded Moses.
21 The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron dedicated them as a special gift to the Lord. He also performed the ritual of purification for them.
22 The people did everything the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites. And so the Levites were qualified to work in the Tent under Aaron and his sons.
23 The Lord said to Moses,
24 "From the age of twenty-five each Levite shall perform his duties in the Tent of my presence,
25 and at the age of fifty he shall retire.
26 After that, he may help his fellow Levites in performing their duties in the Tent, but he must not perform any service by himself. This is how you are to regulate the duties of the Levites."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Numbers 9

1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert in the first month of the second year after the people of Israel had left Egypt. He said,
2 "On the fourteenth day of this month, beginning at sunset, the people of Israel are to observe the Passover according to all the rules and regulations for it."
4 So Moses told the people to observe the Passover,
5 and on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month they did so in the Sinai Desert. The people did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 But there were some people who were ritually unclean because they had touched a corpse, and they were not able to keep the Passover on that day. They went to Moses and Aaron
7 and said, "We are unclean because we have touched a corpse, but why should we be excluded from presenting the Lord's offering with the rest of the Israelites?"
8 Moses answered, "Wait until I receive instructions from the Lord."
9 The Lord told Moses
10 to say to the people of Israel, "When any of you or your descendants are unclean from touching a corpse or are far away on a journey, but still want to keep the Passover,
11 you are permitted to observe it one month later instead, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the second month. Celebrate it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 Do not leave any of the food until the following morning and do not break any of the animal's bones. Observe the Passover according to all the regulations.
13 But if any of you are ritually clean and not away on a journey and do not observe the Passover, you shall no longer be considered my people, because you did not present the offering to me at the appointed time. You must suffer the consequences of your sin.
14 "If foreigners living among you want to keep the Passover, they must observe it according to all the rules and regulations. The same law applies to everyone, whether native or foreigner."
15 On the day the Tent of the Lord's presence was set up, a cloud came and covered it. At night the cloud looked like fire.
17 Whenever the cloud lifted, the people of Israel broke camp, and they set up camp again in the place where the cloud came down.
18 The people broke camp at the command of the Lord, and at his command they set up camp. As long as the cloud stayed over the Tent, they stayed in the same camp.
19 When the cloud stayed over the Tent for a long time, they obeyed the Lord and did not move on.
20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the Tent for only a few days; in any case, they remained in camp or moved, according to the command of the Lord.
21 Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning, and they moved on as soon as the cloud lifted. Whenever the cloud lifted, they moved on.
22 Whether it was two days, a month, a year, or longer, as long as the cloud remained over the Tent, they did not move on; but when it lifted, they moved.
23 They set up camp and broke camp in obedience to the commands which the Lord gave through Moses.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Numbers 10

1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 "Make two trumpets of hammered silver to use for calling the people together and for breaking camp.
3 When long blasts are sounded on both trumpets, the whole community is to gather around you at the entrance to the Tent of my presence.
4 But when only one trumpet is sounded, then only the leaders of the clans are to gather around you.
5 When short blasts are sounded, the tribes camped on the east will move out.
6 When short blasts are sounded a second time, the tribes on the south will move out. So short blasts are to be sounded to break camp,
7 but in order to call the community together, long blasts are to be sounded.
8 The trumpets are to be blown by Aaron's sons, the priests. "The following rule is to be observed for all time to come.
9 When you are at war in your land, defending yourselves against an enemy who has attacked you, sound the signal for battle on these trumpets. I, the Lord your God, will help you and save you from your enemies.
10 Also on joyful occasions - at your New Moon Festivals and your other religious festivals - you are to blow the trumpets when you present your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings. Then I will help you. I am the Lord your God."
11 On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year after the people left Egypt, the cloud over the Tent of the Lord's presence lifted,
12 and the Israelites started on their journey out of the Sinai Desert. The cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.
13 They began to march at the command of the Lord through Moses,
14 and each time they moved, they were in the same order. Those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Judah started out first, company by company, with Nahshon son of Amminadab in command.
15 Nethanel son of Zuar was in command of the tribe of Issachar,
16 and Eliab son of Helon was in command of the tribe of Zebulun.
17 Then the Tent would be taken down, and the clans of Gershon and Merari, who carried it, would start out.
18 Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Reuben would start out, company by company, with Elizur son of Shedeur in command.
19 Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai was in command of the tribe of Simeon,
20 and Eliasaph son of Deuel was in command of the tribe of Gad.
21 Then the Levite clan of Kohath would start out, carrying the sacred objects. By the time they arrived at the next camp, the Tent had been set up again.
22 Next, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Ephraim would start out, company by company, with Elishama son of Ammihud in command.
23 Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was in command of the tribe of Manasseh,
24 and Abidan son of Gideoni was in command of the tribe of Benjamin.
25 Finally, those under the banner of the division led by the tribe of Dan, serving as the rear guard of all the divisions, would start out, company by company, with Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai in command.
26 Pagiel son of Ochran was in command of the tribe of Asher,
27 and Ahira son of Enan was in command of the tribe of Naphtali.
28 This, then, was the order of march, company by company, whenever the Israelites broke camp and set out.
29 Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab son of Jethro the Midianite, "We are about to start out for the place which the Lord said he would give us. He has promised to make Israel prosperous, so come with us, and we will share our prosperity with you."
30 Hobab answered, "No, I am going back to my native land."
31 "Please don't leave us," Moses said. "You know where we can camp in the wilderness, and you can be our guide.
32 If you come with us, we will share with you all the blessings that the Lord gives us."
33 When the people left Sinai, the holy mountain, they traveled three days. The Lord's Covenant Box always went ahead of them to find a place for them to camp.
34 As they moved on from each camp, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day.
35 Whenever the Covenant Box started out, Moses would say, "Arise, Lord; scatter your enemies and put to flight those who hate you!"
36 And whenever it stopped, he would say, "Return, Lord, to the thousands of families of Israel."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.