Numbers 9–11

Israel Celebrates the Passover Feast

9The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. It was the first month of the second year after the people came out of Egypt. He said, ²“Tell the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover Feast. Have them do it at the appointed time. ³Celebrate it when the sun goes down on the 14th day of this month. Obey all of its rules and laws.”

⁴So Moses told the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover Feast. ⁵They did it in the Desert of Sinai. They celebrated it when the sun went down on the 14th day of the first month. The people of Israel did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁶But some of them couldn’t celebrate the Passover Feast on that day. That’s because they weren’t “clean.” They had gone near a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day. ⁷They said to Moses, “We went near a dead body. So we aren’t ‘clean.’ But why should we be kept from bringing the Lord’s offering at the appointed time? Why shouldn’t we bring it along with the other people of Israel?”

⁸Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the Lord wants you to do.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁰“Tell the people of Israel, ‘Suppose any of you or your children are not “clean” because you have gone near a dead body. Or suppose you are away on a journey. You can still celebrate the Lord’s Passover.

¹¹“ ‘I want you to celebrate it on the 14th day of the second month. You have to do it when the sun goes down. You have to eat the lamb together with bread that is made without yeast. Eat it with bitter plants. ¹²Do not leave any of it until morning. Do not break any of its bones. When you celebrate the Passover Feast, follow all of the rules.

¹³“ ‘But suppose a man is “clean.” He is not on a journey. And he fails to celebrate the Passover Feast. Then he must be cut off from the community of Israel. He did not bring the Lord’s offering at the appointed time. He will be punished for his sin.

¹⁴“ ‘What if there is an outsider living among you? And what if he wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover? Then he must obey its rules and laws. You must have the same laws for outsiders as you do for the people of Israel.’ ”

The Cloud Covers the Holy Tent

¹⁵The holy tent was set up. It was the tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept. On the day it was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening until morning the cloud that was above the tent looked like fire. ¹⁶That’s what continued to happen. The cloud covered the tent. At night the cloud looked like fire.

¹⁷When the cloud lifted from its place above the tent, the people of Israel started out. Where the cloud settled, the people of Israel camped. ¹⁸When the Lord gave the command, the people of Israel started out. And when he gave the command, they camped. As long as the cloud stayed above the holy tent, they remained in camp.

¹⁹Sometimes the cloud remained above the tent for a long time. Then the people of Israel obeyed the Lord’s order. They didn’t start out. ²⁰Sometimes the cloud was above the tent for only a few days. When the Lord would give the command, they would camp. Then when he would give the command, they would start out.

²¹Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening until morning. When it lifted in the morning, they started out. It didn’t matter whether it was day or night. When the cloud lifted, the people started out. ²²It didn’t matter whether the cloud stayed above the holy tent for two days or a month or a year. The people of Israel would remain in camp. They wouldn’t start out. But when the cloud lifted, they would start out.

²³When the Lord gave the command, they camped. And when he gave the command, they started out. They obeyed the Lord’s order. They obeyed him, just as he had commanded them through Moses.

The Silver Trumpets

10The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Blow them when you want the community to gather together. And blow them when you want the camps to start out. ³When both trumpets are blown, the whole community must gather in front of you. They must come to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ⁴Suppose only one trumpet is blown. Then the leaders must gather in front of you. They are the heads of the tribes of Israel. ⁵When a trumpet blast is blown, the tribes that are camped on the east side must start out. ⁶When the second blast is blown, the camps on the south side must start out. The blast will tell them when to start. ⁷Blow the trumpets to gather the people together. But do not use the same kind of blast.

⁸“The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets. That is a law for you and your children after you for all time to come. ⁹Suppose you go into battle in your own land. And suppose it is against an enemy who is beating you down. Then blow a blast on the trumpets. If you do, I will remember you. I will save you from your enemies. I am the Lord your God. ¹⁰You must also blow the trumpets when you are happy. Blow them at your appointed feasts. Blow them at your New Moon Feasts. Blow them when you sacrifice your burnt offerings. Blow them when you sacrifice your friendship offerings. They will remind me of you. I am the Lord your God.”

The People of Israel Leave the Sinai Desert

¹¹It was the 20th day of the second month of the second year. On that day the cloud began to move. It went up from above the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.

¹²Then the people of Israel started out from the Desert of Sinai. They traveled from place to place. They kept going until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran. ¹³The first time they started out, the Lord commanded Moses to tell them to do it. And they did it.

¹⁴The companies of the camp of Judah went first. They went out under their flag. Nahshon was their commander. He was the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵Nethanel was over the company of the tribe of Issachar. Nethanel was the son of Zuar. ¹⁶Eliab was over the company of the tribe of Zebulun. Eliab was the son of Helon.

¹⁷The holy tent was taken down. The men of Gershon and Merari started out. They carried the tent.

¹⁸The companies of the camp of Reuben went next. They went out under their flag. Elizur was their commander. He was the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹Shelumiel was over the company of the tribe of Simeon. Shelumiel was the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰Eliasaph was over the company of the tribe of Gad. Eliasaph was the son of Deuel.

²¹The men of Kohath started out. They carried the holy things. The holy tent had to be set up before they arrived.

²²The companies of the camp of Ephraim went next. They went out under their flag. Elishama was their commander. He was the son of Ammihud. ²³Gamaliel was over the company of the tribe of Manasseh. Gamaliel was the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴Abidan was over the company of the tribe of Benjamin. Abidan was the son of Gideoni.

²⁵Finally, the companies of the camp of Dan started out. They marched out under their flag. They followed behind all of the other companies and guarded them. Ahiezer was their commander. He was the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶Pagiel was over the company of the tribe of Asher. Pagiel was the son of Ocran. ²⁷Ahira was over the company of the tribe of Naphtali. Ahira was the son of Enan.

²⁸As the companies of Israel started out, that was the order they marched in.

²⁹Moses spoke to Hobab, the son of Reuel. Reuel was Moses’ father-in-law. Reuel was from Midian. Moses said to Hobab, “We’re starting out for the place the Lord promised to us. He said to us, ‘I will give it to you.’ So come with us. We’ll treat you well. The Lord has promised to give good things to Israel.”

³⁰Hobab answered, “No. I can’t go. I’m going back to my own land. I’m returning to my own people.”

³¹But Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert. You can be our guide. ³²So come with us. The Lord will give us good things. We’ll share them with you.”

³³So they started out from the mountain of the Lord. They traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during those three days. It went ahead of them to find a place for them to rest. ³⁴They started out from the camp by day. And the cloud of the Lord was above them.

³⁵When the ark started out, Moses said,

“Lord, rise up!

Let your enemies be scattered.

Let them run away from you.”

³⁶When the ark came to rest, Moses said,

“Lord, return.

Return to the many thousands of people in Israel.”

The Lord Sends Fire Among the People

11The people weren’t happy about the hard times they were having. The Lord heard what they were saying. It made him burn with anger. Then the Lord sent fire on them. It blazed out among the people. It burned up some of the outer edges of the camp.

²The people cried out to Moses. Then he prayed to the Lord. And the fire died down.

³So that place was named Taberah. That’s because fire from the Lord had blazed out among them there.

The Lord Sends Meat for the People

⁴Some people who were with them began to long for other food. Again the people of Israel began to cry out. They said, “We wish we had meat to eat. ⁵We remember the fish we ate in Egypt. It didn’t cost us anything. We also remember the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. ⁶But now we’ve lost all interest in eating. We never see anything but this manna!”

⁷The manna was like coriander seeds. It looked like sap from a tree. ⁸The people went around gathering it. Then they ground it in a small mill they held in their hands. Or they crushed it in a stone bowl. They cooked it in a pot. Or they made cakes out of it. It tasted like something made with olive oil. ⁹When the dew came down on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

¹⁰Moses heard people from every family crying. They were sobbing at the entrances to their tents.

The Lord burned with hot anger. So Moses became troubled. ¹¹He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on me? Why aren’t you pleased with me? Why have you loaded me down with the troubles of all of these people?

¹²“Am I…