Holman Christian Standard Bible (47 page)

17
 “So now, may my Lord's power be magnified just as You have spoken:
18
 The
Lord
is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion. But He will not leave the
•guilty
unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation. 
19
 Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

20
 The
Lord
responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested.
21
 Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the
Lord
's glory, 
22
 none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me,
23
 will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have despised Me will see it.
24
 But since My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me completely, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. 
25
 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the
•Red
Sea.” 

26
 Then the
Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron:
27
 “How long must I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about Me? I have heard the Israelites' complaints that they make against Me. 
28
 Tell them: As surely as I live,” this is the
Lord
's declaration, “I will do to you exactly as I heard you say.
29
 Your corpses will fall in this wilderness — all of you who were registered in the census, the entire number of you 20 years old or more  — because you have complained about Me.
30
 I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
31
 I will bring your children whom you said would become plunder into the land you rejected, and they will enjoy it. 
32
 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness.
33
 Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for 40 years and bear the penalty for your acts of unfaithfulness until all your corpses lie scattered in the wilderness.
34
 You will bear the consequences of your sins 40 years based on the number of the 40 days that you scouted the land, a year for each day. You will know My displeasure. 
35
 I,
•Yahweh
, have spoken. I swear that I will do this to the entire evil community that has conspired against Me. They will come to an end in the wilderness, and there they will die.” 

36
 So the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and who returned and incited the entire community to complain about him by spreading a negative report about the land —
37
 those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the
Lord
.
38
 Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive of those men who went to scout out the land.

Israel Routed

39
 When Moses reported these words to all the Israelites, the people were overcome with grief.
40
 They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let's go to the place the
Lord
promised, for we were wrong.” 

41
 But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the
Lord
's command? It won't succeed.
42
 Don't go, because the
Lord
is not among you and you will be defeated by your enemies.
43
 The Amalekites and Canaanites are right in front of you, and you will fall by the sword. The
Lord
won't be with you, since you have turned from following Him.”

44
 But they dared to go up the ridge of the hill country, even though the ark of the
Lord
's covenant and Moses did not leave the camp.
45
 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that part of the hill country came down, attacked them, and routed them as far as Hormah. 

Numbers

Laws About Offerings

15
The
Lord
instructed Moses:
2
 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you to settle in,
3
 and you make a fire offering to the
Lord
from the herd or flock — either a
•burnt
offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed festivals — to produce a pleasing aroma for the
Lord
,
4
 the one presenting his offering to the
Lord
must also present a
•grain
offering of two quarts of fine flour mixed with a quart of oil.
5
 Prepare a quart of wine as a
•drink
offering with the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb.

6
 “If you prepare a grain offering with a ram, it must be four quarts of fine flour mixed with a third of a gallon of oil.
7
 Also present a third of a gallon of wine for a drink offering as a pleasing aroma to the
Lord
.

8
 “If you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a
•fellowship
offering to the
Lord
,
9
 a grain offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with two quarts of oil must be presented with the bull.
10
 Also present two quarts of wine as a drink offering. It is a fire offering of pleasing aroma to the
Lord
.
11
 This is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb, or goat.
12
 This is how you must prepare each of them, no matter how many.

13
 “Every Israelite is to prepare these things in this way when he presents a fire offering as a pleasing aroma to the
Lord
.
14
 When a foreigner resides with you or someone else is among you and wants to prepare a fire offering as a pleasing aroma to the
Lord
, he is to do exactly as you do throughout your generations.
15
 The assembly is to have the same statute for both you and the foreign resident as a permanent statute throughout your generations. You and the foreigner will be alike before the
Lord
.
16
 The same law and the same ordinance will apply to both you and the foreigner who resides with you.” 

17
 The
Lord
instructed Moses:
18
 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land where I am bringing you,
19
 you are to offer a contribution to the
Lord
when you eat from the food of the land.
20
 You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of dough as a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor. 
21
 Throughout your generations, you are to give the
Lord
a contribution from the first batch of your dough.

22
 “When you sin unintentionally and do not obey all these commands that the
Lord
spoke to Moses  —
23
 all that the
Lord
has commanded you through Moses, from the day the
Lord
issued the commands and onward throughout your generations —
24
 and if it was done unintentionally without the community's awareness, the entire community is to prepare one young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the
Lord
, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a
•sin
offering.
25
 The priest must then make
•atonement
for the entire Israelite community so that they may be forgiven, for the sin was unintentional. They are to bring their offering, one made by fire to the
Lord
, and their sin offering before the
Lord
for their unintentional sin.
26
 The entire Israelite community and the foreigner who resides among them will be forgiven, since it happened to all the people unintentionally.

27
 “If one person sins unintentionally, he is to present a year-old female goat as a sin offering.
28
 The priest must then make atonement before the
Lord
on behalf of the person who acts in error sinning unintentionally, and when he makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven.
29
 You are to have the same law for the person who acts in error, whether he is an Israelite or a foreigner who lives among you.

30
 “But the person who acts defiantly, whether native or foreign resident, blasphemes the
Lord
. That person is to be cut off from his people.
31
 He will certainly be cut off, because he has despised the
Lord
's word and broken His command; his
•guilt
remains on him.”

Sabbath Violation

32
 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 
33
 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses, Aaron, and the entire community.
34
 They placed him in custody because it had not been decided what should be done to him.
35
 Then the
Lord
told Moses, “The man is to be put to death. The entire community is to stone him outside the camp.”
36
 So the entire community brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the
Lord
had commanded Moses.

Tassels for Remembrance

37
 The
Lord
said to Moses,
38
 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at each corner.
39
 These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the
Lord
's commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes.
40
 This way you will remember and obey all My commands and be holy to your God.
41
 I am
•Yahweh
your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am Yahweh your God.” 

Numbers

Korah Incites Rebellion

16
Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took
2
 250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses.
3
 They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the
Lord
is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the
Lord
's assembly? ”

4
 When Moses heard this, he fell facedown.
5
 Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the
Lord
will reveal who belongs to Him, who is set apart, and the one He will let come near Him. He will let the one He chooses come near Him.
6
 Korah, you and all your followers are to do this: take firepans, and tomorrow
7
 place fire in them and put incense on them before the
Lord
. Then the man the
Lord
chooses will be the one who is set apart. It is you Levites who have gone too far! ” 

8
 Moses also told Korah, “Now listen, Levites!
9
 Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the Israelite community to bring you near to Himself, to perform the work at the
Lord
's tabernacle, and to stand before the community to minister to them?
10
 He has brought you near, and all your fellow Levites who are with you, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.
11
 Therefore, it is you and all your followers who have conspired against the
Lord
! As for Aaron, who is he that you should complain about him? ”

12
 Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come!
13
 Is it not enough that you brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Do you also have to appoint yourself as ruler over us?
14
 Furthermore, you didn't bring us to a land flowing with milk and honey or give us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? We will not come! ”

15
 Then Moses became angry and said to the
Lord
, “Don't respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
16
 So Moses told Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the
Lord
tomorrow — you, they, and Aaron.
17
 Each of you is to take his firepan, place incense on it, and present his firepan before the
Lord
 — 250 firepans. You and Aaron are each to present your firepan also.”

18
 Each man took his firepan, placed fire in it, put incense on it, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron.
19
 After Korah assembled the whole community against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the
Lord
appeared to the whole community.
20
 The
Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron,
21
 “Separate yourselves from this community so I may consume them instantly.”