Day 44 of 365

¹All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

²All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would that we had died in this wilderness!

³Why does the Lord bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be a prey: wouldn't it be better for us to return into Egypt?"

⁴They said one to another, "Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt."

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

⁶Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes:

⁷and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, "The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceeding good land.

⁸If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which flows with milk and honey.

⁹Only do not rebel against the Lord, neither fear the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."

¹⁰But all the congregation threatened to stone them with stones. The glory of the Lord appeared in the Tent of Meeting to all the children of Israel.

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? and how long will they not believe in me, for all the signs which I have worked among them?

¹²I will strike them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they."

¹³Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear it; for you brought up this people in your might from among them;

¹⁴and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you Lord are in the midst of this people; for you Lord are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them, and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵Now if you killed this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of you will speak, saying,

¹⁶'Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore to them, therefore he has slain them in the wilderness.'

¹⁷Now please let the power of the Lord be great, according as you have spoken, saying,

¹⁸'The Lord is slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and disobedience; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation.'

¹⁹Please pardon the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your loving kindness, and according as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now."

²⁰The Lord said, "I have pardoned according to your word:

²¹but in very deed, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord;

²²because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice;

²³surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who despised me see it:

²⁴but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into which he went; and his seed shall possess it.

²⁵Now the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley: tomorrow turn, and go into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea."

²⁶The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²⁷"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, that murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

²⁸Tell them, 'As I live, says the Lord, surely as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you:

²⁹your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me,

³⁰surely you shall not come into the land, concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

³¹But your little ones, that you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have rejected.

³²But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.

³³Your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies be consumed in the wilderness.

³⁴After the number of the days in which you spied out the land, even forty days, for every day a year, you will bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you will know my alienation.'

³⁵I, the Lord, have spoken, surely this will I do to all this evil congregation, who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die."

³⁶The men, whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report against the land,

³⁷even those men who brought up an evil report of the land, died by the plague before the Lord.

³⁸But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, remained alive of those men who went to spy out the land.

³⁹Moses told these words to all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

⁴⁰They rose up early in the morning, and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, "Behold, we are here, and will go up to the place which the Lord has promised: for we have sinned."

⁴¹Moses said, "Why now do you disobey the commandment of the Lord, since it shall not prosper?

⁴²Do not go up, for the Lord isn't among you; that you not be struck down before your enemies.

⁴³For there the Amalekite and the Canaanite are before you, and you shall fall by the sword: because you are turned back from following the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you."

⁴⁴But they presumed to go up to the top of the mountain: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, did not depart out of the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekite came down, and the Canaanite who lived in that mountain, and struck them and beat them down, even to Hormah.

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you have come into the land of your habitations, which I give to you,

³and will make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or as a freewill offering, or in your set feasts, to make a pleasant aroma to the Lord, of the herd, or of the flock;

⁴then he who offers his offering shall offer to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the fourth part of a hin of oil:

⁵and wine for the drink offering, the fourth part of a hin, you shall prepare with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.

⁶"'Or for a ram, you shall prepare for a meal offering two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mixed with the third part of a hin of oil:

⁷and for the drink offering you shall offer the third part of a hin of wine, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

⁸When you prepare a bull for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice, to accomplish a vow, or for peace offerings to the Lord;

⁹then shall he offer with the bull a meal offering of three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil:

¹⁰and you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

¹¹Thus shall it be done for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the young goats.

¹²According to the number that you shall prepare, so you shall do to everyone according to their number.

¹³"'All who are native-born shall do these things in this way, in offering an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, or whoever may be among you throughout your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the Lord; as you do, so he shall do.

¹⁵For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner, a statute forever throughout your generations: as you are, so shall the foreigner be before the Lord.

¹⁶One law and one ordinance shall be for you, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner with you.'"

¹⁷The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁸"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you come into the land where I bring you,

¹⁹then it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer up a wave offering to the Lord.

²⁰Of the first of your dough you shall offer up a cake for a wave offering: as the wave offering of the threshing floor, so you shall heave it.

²¹Of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord a wave offering throughout your generations.

²²"'When you shall err, and not observe all these commandments, which the Lord has spoken to Moses,

²³even all that the Lord has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the Lord gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations;

²⁴then it shall be, if it be done unwittingly, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull for a burnt offering, for a pleasant aroma to the Lord, with the meal offering of it, and the drink offering of it, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering.

²⁵The priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their error:

²⁶and all the congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them; for in respect of all the people it was done unwittingly.

²⁷"'If one person sins unwittingly, then he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering.

²⁸The priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs, when he sins unwittingly, before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and he shall be forgiven.

²⁹You shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them.

³⁰"'But the soul who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, the same blasphemes the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

³¹Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.'"

³²While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

³³Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.

³⁴They put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.

³⁵The Lord said to Moses, "The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp."

³⁶All the congregation brought him outside of the camp, and stoned him to death with stones; as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁷The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁸"Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them that they should make themselves fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put on the fringe of each border a cord of blue:

³⁹and it shall be to you for a fringe, that you may look on it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that you not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to play the prostitute;

⁴⁰that you may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.

⁴¹I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God."

¹Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:

²and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;

³and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, "You take too much on yourself, since all the congregation are holy, everyone of them, and the Lord is among them: why then lift yourselves up above the assembly of the Lord?"

⁴When Moses heard it, he fell on his face:

⁵and he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, "In the morning the Lord will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he shall choose he will cause to come near to him.

⁶Do this: take censers, Korah, and all his company;

⁷and put fire in them, and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord chooses, he shall be holy. You have gone too far, you sons of Levi!"

⁸Moses said to Korah, "Hear now, you sons of Levi!

⁹Is it a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;

¹⁰and that he has brought you near, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? and do you seek the priesthood also?

¹¹Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord: and Aaron, what is he that you murmur against him?"

¹²Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, "We won't come up:

¹³is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?

¹⁴Moreover you haven't 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 won't come up."

¹⁵Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, "Do not respect their offering: I have not taken one donkey from them, neither have I hurt one of them."

¹⁶Moses said to Korah, "You and all your company go before the Lord, you, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow:

¹⁷and each man take his censer, and put incense on them, and each man bring before the Lord his censer, two hundred fifty censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer."

¹⁸They each took his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.

¹⁹Korah assembled all the congregation against them to the door of the Tent of Meeting: and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

²¹"Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!"

²²They fell on their faces, and said, "God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?"

²³The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²⁴"Speak to the congregation, saying, 'Get away from around the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!'"

²⁵Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.

²⁶He spoke to the congregation, saying, "Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!"

²⁷So they went away from the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.

²⁸Moses said, "Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works; for they are not from my own mind.

²⁹If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hasn't sent me.

³⁰But if the Lord make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then you shall understand that these men have despised the Lord."

³¹It happened, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground split apart that was under them;

³²and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who appertained to Korah, and all their goods.

³³So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.

³⁴All Israel that were around them fled at their cry; for they said, "Lest the earth swallow us up!"

³⁵Fire came forth from the Lord, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense.

³⁶The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

³⁷"Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire yonder; for they are holy,

³⁸even the censers of these sinners against their own lives; and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the Lord; therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel."

³⁹Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar,

⁴⁰to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger, who isn't of the seed of Aaron, comes near to burn incense before the Lord; that he not be as Korah, and as his company: as the Lord spoke to him by Moses.

⁴¹But on the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, "You have killed the Lord's people!"

⁴²It happened, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the Tent of Meeting: and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

⁴³Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting.

⁴⁴The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

⁴⁵"Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment!" They fell on their faces.

⁴⁶Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, and put fire from off the altar in it, and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them; for wrath has gone out from the Lord! The plague has begun."

⁴⁷Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and behold, the plague has begun among the people: and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people.

⁴⁸He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.

⁴⁹Now those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides those who died about the matter of Korah.

⁵⁰Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting: and the plague was stayed.

¹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

²"Speak to the children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers' house, of all their princes according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods: write every man's name on his rod.

³You shall write Aaron's name on the rod of Levi; for there shall be one rod for each head of their fathers' houses.

⁴You shall lay them up in the Tent of Meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.

⁵It shall happen, that the rod of the man whom I shall choose shall bud: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against you."

⁶Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

⁷Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tent of the testimony.

⁸It happened on the next day, that Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and produced blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.

⁹Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, "Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the children of rebellion; that you may make an end of their murmurings against me, that they not die."

¹¹Moses did so. As the Lord commanded him, so he did.

¹²The children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Behold, we perish! We are undone! We are all undone!

¹³Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, dies! Will we all perish?"