Numbers 9–11

The Passover Celebrated

9And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, ^din the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²“Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. ^3eOn the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” ⁴So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. ⁵And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. ⁶And there were certain men who were ^funclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and ^gthey came before Moses and Aaron on that day. ⁷And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the Lord’s ^hoffering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” ⁸And Moses said to them, “Wait, that ⁱI may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

⁹The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. ^11jIn the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. ^kThey shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ^12lThey shall leave none of it until the morning, ^mnor break any of its bones; ⁿaccording to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. ¹³But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, ^othat person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the Lord’s ^poffering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. ^qYou shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

^15rOn the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And ^sat evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. ¹⁶So it was always: the cloud covered it by day¹ and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷And whenever the cloud ^tlifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. ¹⁸At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. ^uAs long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. ¹⁹Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel ^vkept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. ²⁰Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. ²¹And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. ²²Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel ^wremained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. ²³At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. ^vThey kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for ^xsummoning the congregation and for breaking camp. ³And when ^yboth are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁴But if they blow only one, then ^zthe chiefs, the heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. ⁵When you blow an alarm, ^athe camps that are on the east side shall set out. ⁶And when you blow an alarm the second time, ^bthe camps that are on the south side shall set out. An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out. ⁷But when the assembly is to be gathered together, ^cyou shall blow a long blast, but you shall not ^dsound an alarm. ^8eAnd the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. The trumpets shall be to you for a perpetual statute throughout your generations. ⁹And ^fwhen you go to war in your land against the adversary who ^goppresses you, then you shall ^dsound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be ^hremembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰ⁱOn the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and ^jat the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be ^ka reminder of you before your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Israel Leaves Sinai

¹¹In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, ^lthe cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, ¹²and the people of Israel ^mset out by stages from the ⁿwilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the ^owilderness of Paran. ¹³They set out for the first time ^pat the command of the Lord by Moses. ¹⁴The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out ^qfirst by their companies, and over their company was ^rNahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. ¹⁶And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.

¹⁷And when ^sthe tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, ^twho carried the tabernacle, set out. ¹⁸And ^uthe standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was ^vElizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was ^wShelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was ^xEliasaph the son of ^yDeuel.

²¹Then the Kohathites set out, ^zcarrying the holy things, and ^athe tabernacle was set up before their arrival. ²²And ^bthe standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was ^cElishama the son of Ammihud. ²³And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was ^cGamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was ^dAbidan the son of Gideoni.

²⁵Then ^ethe standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the ^frear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was ^gAhiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was ^hPagiel the son of Ochran. ²⁷And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was ⁱAhira the son of Enan. ^28jThis was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out.

²⁹And Moses said to Hobab the son of ^kReuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ^l‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for ^mthe Lord has promised good to Israel.” ³⁰But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” ³¹And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve ⁿas eyes for us. ³²And if you do go with us, ^owhatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.”

³³So they set out from ^pthe mount of the Lord three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out ^qa resting place for them. ^34rAnd the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.

³⁵And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, ^s“Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” ³⁶And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.”

The People Complain

11And ^tthe people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, ^uhis anger was kindled, and ^vthe fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. ²Then ^wthe people cried out to Moses, ^xand Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³So the name of that place was called ^yTaberah,¹ because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

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

⁷Now ^dthe manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ^8eThe 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. ^fAnd the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. ^9gWhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

¹⁰Moses heard the people ^hweeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. ¹¹ⁱMoses 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? ¹²Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ^j‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^knurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land ^lthat you swore to give their fathers? ^13mWhere am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give…