^27:7“The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim.⁸ You must indeed⁹ give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer¹⁰ the inheritance of their father to them. ^27:8And you must tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies¹¹ and has no son, then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter; ^27:9and if he has no daughter, then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers; ^27:10and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers; ^27:11and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement,¹² as the Lord commanded Moses.’ ”

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Footnotes

8 Heb “[the daughters of Zelophehad] speak right” (using the participle דֹּבְרֹת [dovérot] with כֵּן [ken]).
9 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute with the imperfect tense. The imperfect is functioning as the imperfect of instruction, and so the infinitive strengthens the force of the instruction.
10 The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive, from the root עָבַר (’avar, “to pass over”). Here it functions as the equivalent of the imperfect of instruction: “and you shall cause to pass,” meaning, “transfer.”
11 Heb “a man, if he dies.”
12 The expression is חֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט (khuqqat mishpat, “a statute of judgment”), which means it is a fixed enactment that determines justice. It is one which is established by God.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.

“Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them. Tell the Israelites: When a man dies without having a son, transfer his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative of his clan, and he will take possession of it. This is to be a statutory ordinance for the Israelites as the Lord commanded Moses.”

NLTNew Living Translation

“The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father.

“And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“The statements of the daughters of Zelophehad are right. You must surely give them the property of an inheritance in the midst of their father’s brothers, and you must transfer the inheritance of their father to them. And you must speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter. And if he has no daughter, you must give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, then you must give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father has no brothers, then you must give his inheritance to his nearest relative from his own clan, and he will take possession of it. It will be as a decree of stipulation for the Israelites, just as Yahweh commanded Moses.’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses.

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