Numbers 10

CHAPTER 10

The Silver Trumpets

¹Yahweh spoke further to Moses, saying,

²“Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for ^asummoning the congregation and for having the camps set out.

³“^aSo both will be blown, and all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁴“Yet if only one is blown, then the ^aleaders, the heads of the ¹divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you.

⁵“But when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched ^aon the east side shall set out.

⁶“Then you will blow an alarm the second time, and the camps that are pitched on ^athe south side shall set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out.

⁷“When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without ^asounding an alarm.

⁸“^aThe priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and ¹this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations.

⁹“Now when you go to war in your land against the adversary who ^aattacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be ^bremembered before Yahweh your God and be saved from your enemies.

¹⁰“Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed ¹feasts, and on the first days of your months, ^ayou shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a remembrance of you before your God. I am Yahweh your God.”

Israel Sets Out From Sinai

¹¹Now it happened in ^athe second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud was lifted from over the ¹tabernacle of the testimony;

¹²and the sons of Israel set out on ^atheir journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the ^bwilderness of Paran.

^13aSo they moved out for the first time according to the ¹command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.

¹⁴And the standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, ^aset out first, with Nahshon the son of Amminadab, over its army,

¹⁵and Nethanel the son of Zuar, over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar;

¹⁶and Eliab the son of Helon over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

^17aThen the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out.

¹⁸Next ^athe standard of the camp of Reuben, according to their armies, set out with Elizur the son of Shedeur, over its army,

¹⁹and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon,

²⁰and Eliasaph the son of Deuel over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

^21aThen the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and ^bthe tabernacle was set up before their arrival.

^22aNext the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim, according to their armies, set out, with Elishama the son of Ammihud over its army,

²³and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh;

²⁴and Abidan the son of Gideoni over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

^25aThen the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the ^brear guard for all the camps, set out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai over its army,

²⁶and Pagiel the son of Ochran over the tribal army of the sons of Asher;

²⁷and Ahira the son of Enan over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali.

²⁸¹This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they set out.

²⁹Then Moses said to ^aHobab the son of ^bReuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out to the place of which Yahweh said, ‘^cI will give it to you’; ^dcome with us and we will do you good, for Yahweh ^ehas ¹promised good concerning Israel.”

³⁰But he said to him, “^aI will not come, but rather will go to my own land and kin.”

³¹Then he said, “Please do not leave us, inasmuch as you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you ^awill be as eyes for us.

³²“So it will be, if you go with us, that ^1awhatever good Yahweh ²does for us, ^bwe will ³do for you.”

^33aThus they set out from the mount of Yahweh three days’ journey, with ^bthe ark of the covenant of Yahweh journeying in front of them for the ¹three days, to spy out ^ca resting place for them.

^34aNow the cloud of Yahweh was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

³⁵Then it happened when the ark set out that Moses said,

“^aRise up, O Yahweh!

And let Your enemies be scattered,

And let those ^bwho hate You flee ¹before You.”

³⁶And when it came to rest, he said,

“^aReturn, O Yahweh,

To the myriad ^bthousands of Israel.”