Num 3-5, Num 34, Jos 15:1-4 | ESV | STEP | These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai .

1 These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: ^aNadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, ^bthe anointed priests, ^cwhom he ordained to serve as priests. 4 ^dBut Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

Duties of the Levites

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 ^e“Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. 7 They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, ^fas they minister at the tabernacle. 8 They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 9 And ^gyou shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are ^hwholly given to him from among the people of Israel. 10 And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and ⁱthey shall guard their priesthood. But if ^jany outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.”

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Behold, ^kI have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, 13 for ^lall the firstborn are mine. ^mOn the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

14 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, 15 “List the sons of Levi, by fathers’ houses and by clans; ⁿevery male from a month old and upward you shall list.” 16 So Moses listed them according to the word of the Lord, as he was commanded. 17 ^oAnd these were the sons of Levi by their names: Gershon and Kohath and Merari. 18 And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: ^pLibni and Shimei. 19 And the sons of Kohath by their clans: ^qAmram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20 And the sons of Merari by their clans: ^rMahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites, by their fathers’ houses.

21 To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. 22 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was ^{▼▼Hebrew their listing was} 7,500. 23 ^tThe clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, 24 with Eliasaph, the son of Lael as chief of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites. 25 And the ^uguard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved ^vthe tabernacle, ^wthe tent with ^xits covering, ^ythe screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, 26 ^zthe hangings of the court, ^aathe screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and ^abits cords—all the service connected with these.

27 To Kohath belonged the clan of the ^acAmramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. 28 According to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, there were 8,600, keeping guard over the sanctuary. 29 The clans of the sons of Kohath were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, 30 with ^adElizaphan the son of Uzziel as chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of the Kohathites. 31 And their guard duty involved ^aethe ark, ^afthe table, ^agthe lampstand, ^ahthe altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and ^aithe screen; all the service connected with these. 32 And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest was to be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and to have oversight of those who kept guard over the sanctuary.

33 To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. 34 Their listing according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward was 6,200. 35 And the chief of the fathers’ house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. 36 ^ajAnd the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the ^akframes of the tabernacle, ^althe bars, ^amthe pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; 37 also ^anthe pillars around the court, with their bases and ^aopegs and ^apcords.

38 Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, ^aqguarding the sanctuary itself, to protect ^{▼▼Hebrew guard} the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death. 39 All those listed among the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron listed at the commandment of the Lord, by clans, all the males from a month old and upward, were ^as22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40 And the Lord said to Moses, “List all the firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward, taking the number of their names. 41 ^atAnd you shall take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the cattle of the people of Israel.” 42 So Moses listed all the firstborn among the people of Israel, as the Lord commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and upward as listed were 22,273.

44 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 ^au“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 46 And ^avas the redemption price for the 273 of the firstborn of the people of Israel, over and above the number of the male Levites, 47 you shall take ^awfive shekels ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} per head; you shall take them according to ^aythe shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs ^{▼▼A gerah was about 1/50 ounce or 0.6 gram}), 48 and give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are over.” 49 So Moses took the redemption money from those who were over and above those redeemed by the Levites. 50 From the firstborn of the people of Israel he took the money, ^ba1,365 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 51 And Moses ^bbgave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Numbers 4

Duties of the Kohathites

1 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 3 ^bcfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, all who can come on duty, to do the work in the tent of meeting. 4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting: ^bdthe most holy things. 5 When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down ^bethe veil of the screen and cover ^bfthe ark of the testimony with it. 6 Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; compare Exodus 25:5} and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its ^bhpoles. 7 And over the ^bitable of the bread of the Presence they shall spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates, the dishes for incense, the bowls, and the flagons for the drink offering; ^bjthe regular showbread also shall be on it. 8 Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goatskin, and shall ^bkput in its poles. 9 And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover ^blthe lampstand for the light, with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied. 10 And they shall put it with all its utensils in a covering of goatskin and put it on the carrying frame. 11 And over ^bmthe golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 12 And they shall take all ^bnthe vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with a covering of goatskin and put them on the carrying frame. 13 And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 And they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar, which are used for the service there, the fire pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and shall put in its poles. 15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, as the camp sets out, after that ^bothe sons of Kohath shall come to carry these, ^bpbut they must not touch the holy things, lest they die. These are the things of the tent of meeting that the sons of Kohath are to carry.

16 “And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall have charge of ^bqthe oil for the light, the ^brfragrant incense, ^bsthe regular grain offering, and ^btthe anointing oil, with the oversight of the whole tabernacle and all that is in it, of the sanctuary and its vessels.”

17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 18 “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, 19 but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to ^buthe most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, 20 ^bvbut they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.”

21 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 22 “Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses and by their clans. 23 ^bwFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, all who can ^bxcome to do duty, to do service in the tent of meeting. 24 This is the service of the clans of the Gershonites, in serving and bearing burdens: 25 ^bythey shall carry ^bzthe curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting with ^caits covering and the covering of goatskin that is on top of it and the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting 26 and the hangings of the court and the screen for the entrance of the gate of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and their cords and all the equipment for their service. And they shall do all that needs to be done with regard to them. 27 All the service of the sons of the Gershonites shall be at the command of Aaron and his sons, in all that they are to carry and in all that they have to do. And you shall assign to their charge all that they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the clans of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting, and their guard duty is to be ^cbunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

29 “As for the sons of Merari, you shall list them by their clans and their fathers’ houses. 30 ^ccFrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, you shall list them, everyone who can come on duty, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 31 And ^cdthis is what they are charged to carry, as the whole of their service in the tent of meeting: the frames of the tabernacle, with its bars, pillars, and bases, 32 and the pillars around the court with their bases, pegs, and cords, with all their equipment and all their accessories. And you shall ^celist by name the objects that they are required to carry. 33 This is the service of the clans of the sons of Merari, the whole of their service in the tent of meeting, ^cfunder the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.”

34 And Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the congregation listed the sons of the Kohathites, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 35 ^cgfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting; 36 and those listed by clans were 2,750. 37 ^chThis was the list of the clans of the Kohathites, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

38 Those listed of the sons of Gershon, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 39 ^cifrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty for service in the tent of meeting— 40 those listed by their clans and their fathers’ houses were 2,630. 41 ^cjThis was the list of the clans of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the tent of meeting, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord.

42 Those listed of the clans of the sons of Merari, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 43 ^ckfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come on duty, for service in the tent of meeting— 44 those listed by clans were 3,200. 45 ^clThis was the list of the clans of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron listed according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

46 All those who were listed of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of Israel listed, by their clans and their fathers’ houses, 47 ^cmfrom thirty years old up to fifty years old, everyone who could come to do the service of ministry and the service of bearing burdens in the tent of meeting, 48 those listed were 8,580. 49 According to the commandment of the Lord through Moses they were listed, ^cneach one with his task of serving or carrying. Thus they were listed by him, ^coas the Lord commanded Moses.

Numbers 5

Unclean People

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel that they ^cpput out of the camp everyone who is leprous ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} or has ^cra discharge and everyone who is ^csunclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, ^ctin the midst of which I dwell.” 4 And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the people of Israel, ^cuWhen a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 ^cvhe shall confess his sin that he has committed. ^{▼▼Hebrew they shall confess their sin that they have committed} ^cxAnd he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to ^cythe ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 And ^czevery contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”

A Test for Adultery

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man’s wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man ^dalies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, ^dbsince she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters} of barley flour. ^ddHe shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, ^debringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and ^dfunbind the hair of the woman’s head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ^dg‘the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. 22 May this water that brings the curse ^dhpass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ^di‘Amen, Amen.’

23 “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand ^djand shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest ^dkshall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman ^dlshall become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

29 “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, ^dmthough under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman ^dnshall bear her iniquity.”

Numbers 34

Boundaries of the Land

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter ^dothe land of Canaan ^dp(this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), 3 ^dqyour south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of ^drthe Salt Sea on the east. 4 And your border shall turn south of ^dsthe ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to ^dtHazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. 5 And the border shall turn ^dufrom Azmon to ^dvthe Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

6 “For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its ^{▼▼Syriac; Hebrew lacks 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 ^dxMount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor you shall draw a line ^dyto Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at ^dzZedad. 9 Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at ^eaHazar-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 ^ebRiblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of ^ecthe Sea of Chinnereth on the east. 12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at ^edthe Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, ^ee“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 ^efFor 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.”

List of Tribal Chiefs

16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: ^egEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 You shall take one ^ehchief 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.

Joshua 15:1-4

The Allotment for Judah

1 The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward ^eito the boundary of Edom, to ^ejthe wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. 2 And their south boundary ran from the end of the ^ekSalt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. 3 It goes out southward of ^elthe ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, 4 passes along to Azmon, goes out by ^emthe Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary.