Exo 32:7-35, Num 11, Num 14, Num 16, Num 25, Eze 20:13, 21 | ESV | STEP | And the Lord said to Moses , Go down , for your people , whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt , have corrupted themselves.

7 And the Lord said to Moses, ^a“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have ^bcorrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that ^cI commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, ^dit is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore ^elet me alone, that ^fmy wrath may burn hot against them and ^gI may consume them, in order that ^hI may make a great nation of you.”

11 But ⁱMoses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 ^jWhy should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and ^krelent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you ^lswore by your own self, and said to them, ^m‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 And the Lord ⁿrelented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

15 Then ^oMoses turned and went down from the mountain with the ^ptwo tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 ^qThe tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. 17 When ^rJoshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” 18 But he said, “It is not the sound of ^sshouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” 19 And as soon as he came near the camp and ^tsaw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

21 And Moses said to Aaron, ^u“What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?” 22 And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. ^vYou know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For ^wthey said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 So ^xI said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

25 And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, ^yto the derision of their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you ^zkill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. 29 And Moses said, “Today you have been ^aaordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, ^ab“You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; ^acperhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, ^adthis people has sinned a great sin. They have ^aemade for themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, if ^afyou will forgive their sin—but if not, please ^agblot me out of ^ahyour book that you have written.” 33 But the Lord said to Moses, ^ai“Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. 34 ^ajBut now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; ^akbehold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

35 Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

Numbers 11

The People Complain

1 And ^althe people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, ^amhis anger was kindled, and ^anthe fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then ^aothe people cried out to Moses, ^apand Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called ^aqTaberah, ^{▼▼ Taberah means burning} because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

4 Now the ^asrabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also ^atwept again and said, ^au“Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 ^avWe remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

7 Now ^awthe manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 ^axThe people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. ^ayAnd the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 ^azWhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

10 Moses heard the people ^baweeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 ^bbMoses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ^bc‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^bdnurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land ^bethat you swore to give their fathers? 13 ^bfWhere am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 ^bgI am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me ^bhseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^biofficers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 ^bjAnd I will come down and talk with you there. And ^bkI will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and ^blthey shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ^bm‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? ^bnFor it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, ^bountil it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, ^bp“Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, ^bq“The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 ^brShall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, ^bs“Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether ^btmy word will come true for you or not.”

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. ^buAnd he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then ^bvthe Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they ^bwhad not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And ^bxJoshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, ^bystop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? ^bzWould that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Quail and a Plague

31 Then a ^cawind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits ^{▼▼A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters} above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten ^cchomers. ^{▼▼A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters} And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 ^ceWhile the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and ^cfthe Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called ^cgKibroth-hattaavah, ^{▼▼ Kibroth-hattaavah means graves of craving} because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 ^ciFrom Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to ^cjHazeroth, and they remained at ^ckHazeroth.

Numbers 14

The People Rebel

1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people ^clwept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel ^cmgrumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or ^cnwould that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? ^coOur wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, ^cp“Let us choose a leader and ^cqgo back to Egypt.”

5 Then ^crMoses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 ^csAnd Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, ^ct“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If ^cuthe Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, ^cva land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only ^cwdo not rebel against the Lord. And ^cxdo not fear the people of the land, for ^cythey are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 ^czThen all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But ^dathe glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people ^dbdespise me? And how long will they not ^dcbelieve in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I ^ddwill make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

13 But ^deMoses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. ^dfThey have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and ^dgyour cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord ^dhwas not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ^di‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, ^djvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please ^dkpardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just ^dlas you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, ^dmaccording to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all ^dnthe earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 ^donone of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ^dpten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 ^dqshall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant ^drCaleb, because he has a different spirit and has ^dsfollowed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 ^dtNow, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, ^duturn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall ^dvthis wicked congregation grumble against me? ^dwI have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ^dx‘As I live, declares the Lord, ^dywhat you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 ^dzyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and ^eaof all your number, listed in the census ^ebfrom twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I ^ecswore that I would make you dwell, ^edexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 ^eeBut your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that ^efyou have rejected. 32 But as for you, ^egyour dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children ^ehshall be shepherds in the wilderness ^eiforty years and shall ^ejsuffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 ^ekAccording to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, ^elforty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 ^emI, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all ^enthis wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

36 ^eoAnd the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land— ^epdied by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, ^eqonly Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Israel Defeated in Battle

39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people ^ermourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, ^es“Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 ^etBut Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 ^euDo not go up, ^evfor the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there ^ewthe Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 ^exBut they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither ^eythe ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then ^ezthe Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to ^faHormah.

Numbers 16

Korah’s Rebellion

1 Now ^fbKorah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and ^fcDathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 ^fdThey assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, ^fe“You have gone too far! For ^ffall in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, ^fghe fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show ^fhwho is his, ^{▼▼Septuagint The Lord knows those who are his} and who is ^fjholy, and will bring him near to him. The one ^fkwhom he chooses he will ^flbring near to him. 6 Do this: take ^fmcensers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. ^fnYou have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it ^fotoo small a thing for you that the God of Israel has ^fpseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is ^fqAaron that you grumble against him?”

12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it ^fra small thing that you have brought us up out of ^fsa land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also ^ftmake yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, ^fu“Do not respect their offering. ^fvI have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, ^fwbefore the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And ^fxlet every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, ^fy250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^fzAnd the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 ^ga“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them ^gbin a moment.” 22 And they ^gcfell on their faces and said, “O God, ^gdthe God of the spirits of all flesh, ^geshall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, ^gf“Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood ^ggat the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been ^ghof my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, ^githen the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and ^gjthe ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ^gkgo down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”

31 ^glAnd as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and ^gmall the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and ^gnthey perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And ^gofire came out from the Lord and consumed ^gpthe 250 men offering the incense.

36 ^{▼▼Ch 17:1 in Hebrew} Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of ^grthese men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. ^gsThus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so ^gtthat no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses.

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel ^gugrumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” 42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, ^gvthe cloud covered it, and ^gwthe glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 ^gx“Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” ^gyAnd they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for ^gzwrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” 47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and ^hathe plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, ^hbbesides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Numbers 25

Baal Worship at Peor

1 While Israel lived in ^hcShittim, ^hdthe people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 ^heThese 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, ^hf“Take all the chiefs of the people and ^hghang ^{▼▼Or impale} them in the sun before the Lord, ^hithat the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to ^hjthe judges of Israel, ^hk“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 ^hlweeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 ^hmWhen Phinehas ^hnthe 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, ^hothose who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

The Zeal of Phinehas

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 ^hpwas jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in ^hqmy jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ^hr‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to ^hshis descendants after him the covenant of ^hta 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 ^huZur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian.

16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 ^hv“Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their ^hwwiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of ^hxPeor, 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.”

Ezekiel 20:13

13 ^hyBut the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^hzThey did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^iaand my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^ib“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.

Ezekiel 20:21

21 ^icBut the children ^idrebelled against me. ^ieThey did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

^if“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.