Numbers 4:21–7:89

The Gershonites

21 The Lord said to Moses, 22 “Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans. 23 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of ageb who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.

24 “This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle,c that is, the tent of meeting,d its coveringe and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar,f the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard,g the ropes and all the equipmenth used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things. 27 All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons.i You shall assign to them as their responsibilityj all they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the Gershonite clansk at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamarl son of Aaron, the priest.

The Merarites

29 “Countm the Merarites by their clans and families.n 30 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting. 31 As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases,o 32 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes,p all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamarq son of Aaron, the priest.”

The Numbering of the Levite Clans

34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathitesr by their clans and families. 35 All the men from thirty to fifty years of ages who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 36 counted by clans, were 2,750. 37 This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clanst who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

38 The Gershonitesu were counted by their clans and families. 39 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 40 counted by their clans and families, were 2,630. 41 This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command.

42 The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. 43 All the men from thirty to fifty years of agev who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 44 counted by their clans, were 3,200. 45 This was the total of those in the Merarite clans.w Moses and Aaron counted them according to the Lord’s command through Moses.

46 So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel countedx all the Levites by their clans and families. 47 All the men from thirty to fifty years of agey who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent of meeting 48 numbered 8,580.z 49 At the Lord’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.

Thus they were counted,a as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Purity of the Camp

5 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin diseasea b or a dischargec of any kind, or who is ceremonially uncleand because of a dead body.e 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.f” 4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

Restitution for Wrongs

5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any wayb and so is unfaithfulg to the Lord is guiltyh 7 and must confessi the sin they have committed. They must make full restitutionj for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ramk with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer.l 9 All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.m 10 Sacred things belong to their owners, but what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.n’ ”

The Test for an Unfaithful Wife

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man’s wife goes astrayo and is unfaithful to him 13 so that another man has sexual relations with her,p and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), 14 and if feelings of jealousyq come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure—15 then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephahc r of barley flours on her behalf. He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy,t a reminder-offeringu to draw attention to wrongdoing.

16 “ ‘The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. 17 Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. 18 After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hairv and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy,w while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.x 19 Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astrayy and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a cursez not harm you. 20 But if you have gone astraya while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”—21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curseb—“may the Lord cause you to become a cursed among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. 22 May this waterc that brings a cursed enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”

“ ‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.e”

23 “ ‘The priest is to write these curses on a scrollf and then wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her. 25 The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lordg and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memoriale offeringh and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.i 28 If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.

29 “ ‘This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astrayj and makes herself impure while married to her husband, 30 or when feelings of jealousyk come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the Lord and is to apply this entire law to her. 31 The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequencesl of her sin.’ ”

The Nazirite

6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vowm, a vow of dedicationn to the Lord as a Nazirite,o 3 they must abstain from winep and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegarq made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapesr or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.

5 “ ‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razors may be used on their head.t They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.

6 “ ‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body.u 7 Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially uncleanv on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.

9 “ ‘If someone dies suddenly in the Nazirite’s presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication,w they must shave their head on the seventh day—the day of their cleansing.x 10 Then on the eighth dayy they must bring two doves or two young pigeonsz to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.a 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offeringa b and the other as a burnt offeringc to make atonementd for the Nazirite because they sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day they are to consecrate their head again. 12 They must rededicate themselves to the Lord for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lambe as a guilt offering.f The previous days do not count, because they became defiled during their period of dedication.

13 “ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the period of their dedication is over.g They are to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting.h 14 There they are to present their offerings to the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defecti for a burnt offering, a …