The Living Bible (56 page)

Numbers
33

This is the itinerary of the nation of Israel from the time Moses and Aaron led them out of Egypt.
²
 Moses had written down their movements as the Lord had instructed him.
^3-4
 They left the city of Rameses, Egypt, on the first day of April,
*
the day after the night of the Passover. They left proudly, hurried along by the Egyptians who were burying all their eldest sons, killed by the Lord the night before. The Lord had certainly defeated all the gods of Egypt that night!

    
^5-6
 After leaving Rameses, they stayed in Succoth, Etham (at the edge of the wilderness), and
⁷
 Pihahiroth (near Baal-zephon, where they camped at the foot of Mount Migdol).
⁸
 From there they went through the middle of the Red Sea and on for three days into the wilderness of Etham, camping at Marah.

    
⁹
 Leaving Marah, they came to Elim, where there are twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; they stayed there for quite a long time.

    
¹⁰
 Leaving Elim, they camped beside the Red Sea,
¹¹
 and then in the wilderness of Sihn.

    
¹²
 Next was Dophkah,
¹³
 and then Alush;
¹⁴
 then on to Rephidim (where there was no water for the people to drink).

    
^15-37
 From Rephidim they went to the wilderness of Sinai; from the wilderness of Sinai to Kibroth-hattaavah;

    
From Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth;

    
From Hazeroth to Rithmah;

    
From Rithmah to Rimmon-parez;

    
From Rimmon-parez to Libnah;

    
From Libnah to Rissah;

    
From Rissah to Kehelathah;

    
From Kehelathah to Mount Shepher;

    
From Mount Shepher to Haradah;

    
From Haradah to Makheloth;

    
From Makheloth to Tahath;

    
From Tahath to Terah;

    
From Terah to Mithkah;

    
From Mithkah to Hashmonah;

    
From Hashmonah to Moseroth;

    
From Moseroth to Bene-jaakan;

    
From Bene-jaakan to Hor-haggidgad;

    
From Hor-haggidgad to Jotbathah;

    
From Jotbathah to Abronah;

    
From Abronah to Ezion-geber;

    
From Ezion-geber to Kadesh (in the wilderness of Zin);

    
From Kadesh to Mount Hor (at the edge of the land of Edom).

    
^38-39
 While they were at the foot of Mount Hor, Aaron the priest was directed by the Lord to go up into the mountain, and there he died. This occurred during the fortieth year after the people of Israel had left Egypt. The date of his death was July 15,
*
when he was 123 years old.

    
⁴⁰
 It was then that the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, in the land of Canaan, heard that the people of Israel were approaching his land.
⁴¹
 After dealing with him, the Israelis journeyed from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah,
⁴²
 then at Punon,
⁴³
 then at Oboth,
⁴⁴
 then Iyeabarim (at the border of Moab).
⁴⁵
 From there they went to Dibon-gad,
⁴⁶
 and then to Almon-diblathaim,
⁴⁷
 and on into the mountains of Abarim, near Mount Nebo,
⁴⁸
 and finally to the plains of Moab beside the river Jordan, opposite Jericho.
⁴⁹
 While in that area they camped at various places along the Jordan River, from Bethjeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim, on the plains of Moab.

    
^50-51
 It was while they were camped there that the Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel, “When you pass across the Jordan River into the land of Canaan,
⁵²
 you must drive out all the people living there and destroy all their idols—their carved stones, molten images, and the open-air sanctuaries in the hills where they worship their idols.
⁵³
 I have given the land to you; take it and live there.
⁵⁴
 You will be given land in proportion to the size of your tribes. The larger sections of land will be divided by lot among the larger tribes, and the smaller sections will be allotted to the smaller tribes.
⁵⁵
 But if you refuse to drive out the people living there, those who remain will be as cinders in your eyes and thorns in your sides.
⁵⁶
 And I will destroy you as I had planned for you to destroy them.”

Numbers
34

The Lord told Moses to tell the people of Israel, “When you come into the land of Canaan (I am giving you the entire land as your homeland),
³
 the southern portion of the country will be the wilderness of Zin, along the edge of Edom. The southern boundary will begin at the Dead Sea,
⁴
 and will continue south past Scorpion Pass
*
in the direction of Zin. Its southernmost point will be Kadesh-barnea, from which it will go to Hazaraddar, and on to Azmon.
⁵
 From Azmon the boundary will follow the brook of Egypt down to the Mediterranean Sea.

    
⁶
 “Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

    
^7-9
 “Your northern border will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and will proceed eastward to Mount Hor, then to Lebo-Hamath, and on through Zedad and Ziphron to Hazar-enan.

    
^10-11
 “The eastern border will be from Hazar-enan south to Shepham, then on to Riblah at the east side of Ain. From there it will make a large half-circle, first going south and then westward until it touches the southernmost tip of the Sea of Galilee,
¹²
 and then along the Jordan River, ending at the Dead Sea.”

    
¹³
 “This is the territory you are to apportion among yourselves by lot,” Moses said. “It is to be divided up among the nine and one-half tribes,
^14-15
 for the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already been assigned land on the east side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”

    
^16-28
 And the Lord said to Moses, “These are the names of the men I have appointed to handle the dividing up of the land: Eleazar the priest, Joshua (son of Nun), and one leader from each tribe, as listed below:

²⁹
 These are the names of the men I have appointed to oversee the dividing of the land among the tribes.”

Numbers
35

While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses,

    
²
 “Instruct the people of Israel to give to the Levites as their inheritance certain cities and surrounding pasturelands.
³
 These cities are for their homes, and the surrounding lands for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.
^4-5
 Their gardens and vineyards shall extend 1500 feet out from the city walls in each direction, with an additional 1500 feet beyond that for pastureland.

    
⁶
 “You shall give the Levites the six Cities of Refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can run and be safe, and forty-two other cities besides.
⁷
 In all, there shall be forty-eight cities with the surrounding pastureland given to the Levites.
⁸
 These cities shall be in various parts of the nation; the larger tribes with many cities will give several to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer.”

    
^9-10
 And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people that when they arrive in the land,
¹¹
 Cities of Refuge shall be designated for anyone to flee into if he has killed someone accidentally.
¹²
 These cities will be places of protection from the dead man’s relatives who want to avenge his death; for the slayer must not be killed unless a fair trial establishes his guilt.
^13-14
 Three of these six Cities of Refuge are to be located in the land of Canaan, and three on the east side of the Jordan River.
¹⁵
 These are not only for the protection of Israelites, but also for foreigners and travelers.

    
¹⁶
 “But if someone is struck and killed by a piece of iron, it must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed.
¹⁷
 Or if the slain man was struck down with a large stone, it is murder, and the murderer shall die.
¹⁸
 The same is true if he is killed with a wooden weapon.
¹⁹
 The avenger of his death shall personally kill the murderer when he meets him.
²⁰
 So if anyone kills another out of hatred by throwing something at him, or ambushing him,
²¹
 or angrily striking him with his fist so that he dies, he is a murderer; and the murderer shall be executed by the avenger.

    
^22-23
 “But if it is an accident—a case in which something is thrown unintentionally, or in which a stone is thrown without anger, without realizing it will hit anyone, and without wanting to harm an enemy—yet the man dies,
²⁴
 then the people shall judge whether or not it was an accident, and whether or not to hand the killer over to the avenger of the dead man.
²⁵
 If it is decided that it was accidental, then the people shall save the killer from the avenger; the killer shall be permitted to stay in the City of Refuge; and he must live there until the death of the High Priest.

    
²⁶
 “If the slayer leaves the city,
²⁷
 and the avenger finds him outside and kills him, it is not murder,
²⁸
 for the man should have stayed inside the city until the death of the High Priest. But after the death of the High Priest, the man may return to his own land and home.
²⁹
 These are permanent laws for all Israel from generation to generation.

    
³⁰
 “All murderers must be executed, but only if there is more than one witness; no man shall die with only one person testifying against him.
³¹
 Whenever anyone is judged guilty of murder, he must die—no ransom may be accepted for him.
³²
 Nor may a payment be accepted from a refugee in a City of Refuge, permitting him to return to his home before the death of the High Priest.
³³
 In this way the land will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer.
³⁴
 You shall not defile the land where you are going to live, for I, Jehovah, will be living there.”