The Living Bible (45 page)

Numbers
4

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take a census of the Kohath division of the Levite tribe.
³
 This census will be of all males from ages thirty to fifty who are able to work in the Tabernacle.
⁴
 These are their sacred duties:

    
⁵
 “When the camp moves, Aaron and his sons will enter the Tabernacle first and take down the veil and cover the Ark with it.
⁶
 Then they will cover the veil with goatskin leather, cover the goatskins with a blue cloth, and place the carrying poles of the Ark in their rings.

    
⁷
 “Next they must spread a blue cloth over the table where the Bread of the Presence is displayed, and place the dishes, spoons, bowls, cups, and the Bread upon the cloth.
⁸
 They will spread a scarlet cloth over that, and finally a covering of goatskin leather on top of the scarlet cloth. Then they shall insert the carrying poles into the table.

    
⁹
 “Next they must cover with a blue cloth the lampstand, the lamps, snuffers, trays, and the reservoir of olive oil.
¹⁰
 This entire group of objects shall then be covered with goatskin leather, and the bundle shall be placed upon a carrying frame.

    
¹¹
 “They must then spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with a covering of goatskin leather, and insert the carrying poles into the altar.
¹²
 All of the remaining utensils of the Tabernacle are to be wrapped in a blue cloth, covered with goatskin leather, and placed on the carrying frame.

    
¹³
 “The ashes are to be removed from the altar, and the altar shall be covered with a purple cloth.
¹⁴
 All of the altar utensils are to be placed upon the cloth—the firepans, hooks, shovels, basins, and other containers—and a cover of goatskin leather will be spread over them. Finally, the carrying poles are to be put in place.
¹⁵
 When Aaron and his sons have finished packing the sanctuary and all the utensils, the clan of Kohath shall come and carry the units to wherever the camp is traveling; but they must not touch the holy items, lest they die. This, then, is the sacred work of the sons of Kohath.

    
¹⁶
 “Aaron’s son Eleazar shall be responsible for the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil—in fact, the supervision of the entire Tabernacle and everything in it will be his responsibility.”

    
^17-19
 Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Don’t let the families of Kohath destroy themselves! This is what you must do so that they will not die when they carry the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in with them and point out what each is to carry.
²⁰
 Otherwise they must never enter the sanctuary for even a moment, lest they look at the sacred objects there and die.”

    
^21-23
 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take a census of the Gershonite division of the tribe of Levi, all of the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible for the sacred work of the Tabernacle.
²⁴
 These will be their duties:

    
²⁵
 “They will carry the curtains of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle itself with its coverings, the goatskin leather roof, and the curtain for the Tabernacle entrance.
²⁶
 They are also to carry the drapes covering the courtyard fence, and the curtain across the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the altar and the Tabernacle. They will also carry the altar, the ropes, and all of the accessories. They are fully responsible for the transportation of these items.
²⁷
 Aaron or any of his sons may assign the Gershonites’ tasks to them,
²⁸
 but the Gershonites will be directly responsible to Aaron’s son Ithamar.

    
²⁹
 “Now take a census of the Merari division of the Levite tribe, all of the men from thirty to fifty who are eligible for the Tabernacle service.
^30-31
 When the Tabernacle is moved, they are to carry the frames of the Tabernacle, the bars, the bases,
³²
 the frames for the courtyard fence with their bases, pegs, cords, and everything else connected with their use and repair. Assign duties to each man by name.
³³
 The Merari division will also report to Aaron’s son Ithamar.”

    
³⁴
 So Moses and Aaron and the other leaders took a census of the Kohath division,
³⁵
 including all of the men thirty to fifty years of age who were eligible for the Tabernacle service,
³⁶
 and found that the total number was 2,750.
³⁷
 All this was done to carry out the Lord’s instructions to Moses.
^38-41
 A similar census of the Gershon division totaled 2,630.
^42-45
 And of the Merari division, 3,200.
^46-48
 Thus Moses and Aaron and the leaders of Israel found that the total of all the Levites who were thirty to fifty years old and who were eligible for the Tabernacle service and transportation was 8,580.
⁴⁹
 This census was taken in response to the Lord’s instructions to Moses.

Numbers
5

These are further instructions from the Lord to Moses: “Inform the people of Israel that they must expel all lepers from the camp, and all who have open sores, or who have been defiled by touching a dead person.
³
 This applies to men and women alike. Remove them so that they will not defile the camp where I live among you.”
⁴
 These instructions were put into effect.

    
^5-6
 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that when anyone, man or woman, betrays the Lord by betraying a trust, it is sin.
⁷
 He must confess his sin and make full repayment for what he has stolen,
*
adding 20 percent and returning it to the person he took it from.
⁸
 But if the person he wronged is dead,
*
and there is no near relative to whom the payment can be made, it must be given to the priest, along with a lamb for atonement.
^9-10
 When the people of Israel bring a gift to the Lord it shall go to the priests.”

    
^11-12
 And the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel that if a man’s wife commits adultery,
¹³
 but there is no proof, there being no witness,
¹⁴
 and he is jealous and suspicious,
¹⁵
 the man shall bring his wife to the priest with an offering for her of a tenth of a bushel of barley meal without oil or frankincense mingled with it—for it is a suspicion offering—to bring out the truth
*
as to whether or not she is guilty.

    
¹⁶
 “The priest shall bring her before the Lord,
¹⁷
 and take holy water in a clay jar and mix into it dust from the floor of the Tabernacle.
¹⁸
 He shall unbind her hair and place the suspicion offering in her hands to determine whether or not her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest shall stand before her holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse.
¹⁹
 He shall require her to swear that she is innocent, and then he shall say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you except your husband, be free from the effects of this bitter water that causes the curse.
²⁰
 But if you have committed adultery,
^21-22
 then Jehovah shall make you a curse among your people, for he will make your thigh rot away and your body swell.’ And the woman shall be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’
²³
 Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the bitter water.
²⁴
 (When he requires the woman to drink the water, it becomes bitter within her if she is guilty.
*
)

    
²⁵
 “Then the priest shall take the suspicion offering from the woman’s hand and wave it before Jehovah, and carry it to the altar.
²⁶
 He shall take a handful, representing all of it, and burn the handful upon the altar, and then require the woman to drink the water.
²⁷
 If she has been defiled, having committed adultery against her husband, the water will become bitter within her, and her body will swell and her thigh will rot, and she shall be a curse among her people.
²⁸
 But if she is pure and has not committed adultery, she shall be unharmed and will soon become pregnant.

    
²⁹
 “This, then, is the law concerning a wayward wife—or a husband’s suspicions against his wife—
³⁰
 to determine whether or not she has been unfaithful to him. He shall bring her before the Lord and the priest shall handle the situation as outlined above.
³¹
 Her husband shall not be brought to trial for causing her horrible disease, for she is responsible.”

Numbers
6

The Lord gave Moses these further instructions for the people of Israel: “When either a man or a woman takes the special vow of a Nazirite, consecrating himself to the Lord in a special way,
^3-4
 he must not thereafter, during the entire period of his special consecration to the Lord, taste strong drink or wine or even fresh wine, grape juice, grapes, or raisins! He may eat nothing that comes from grapevines, not even the seeds or skins!

    
⁵
 “Throughout that time he must never cut his hair, for he is holy and consecrated to the Lord; that is why he must let his hair grow.

    
^6-7
 “And he may not go near any dead body during the entire period of his vow, even if it is the body of his father, mother, brother, or sister; for his vow of consecration remains in effect,
⁸
 and he is consecrated to the Lord throughout the entire period.
⁹
 If he is defiled by having someone fall dead beside him, then seven days later he shall shave his defiled head; he will then be cleansed from the contamination of being in the presence of death.
¹⁰
 The next day, the eighth day, he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
¹¹
 The priest shall offer one of the birds for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for his defilement. And he must renew his vows that day and let his hair begin to grow again.
¹²
 The days of his vow that were fulfilled before his defilement no longer count. He must begin all over again with a new vow, and must bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering.

    
¹³
 “At the conclusion of the period of his vow of separation to the Lord, he must go to the entrance of the Tabernacle
¹⁴
 and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, a year-old lamb without defect. He must also offer a sin offering, a yearling ewe lamb without defect; a peace offering, a ram without defect;
¹⁵
 a basket of bread made without yeast; pancakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil; unleavened wafers spread with oil; and the accompanying grain offering and drink offerings.
¹⁶
 The priest shall present these offerings before the Lord: first the sin offering and the burnt offering;
¹⁷
 then the ram for a peace offering, along with the basket of bread made without yeast; and finally the grain offering along with the drink offering.

    
¹⁸
 “Then the Nazirite shall shave his long hair—the sign of his vow of separation. This shall be done at the entrance of the Tabernacle, after which the hair shall be put in the fire under the peace offering sacrifice.
¹⁹
 After the man’s head has been shaved, the priest shall take the roasted shoulder of the lamb, one of the pancakes (made without yeast), and one of the wafers (also made without yeast), and put them all into the man’s hands.
²⁰
 The priest shall then wave it all back and forth before the Lord in a gesture of offering; all of it is a holy portion for the priest, as are the rib piece and shoulder that were waved before the Lord. After that the Nazirite may again drink wine, for he is freed from his vow.

    
²¹
 “These are the regulations concerning a Nazirite and his sacrifices at the conclusion of his period of special dedication. In addition to these sacrifices he must bring any further offering he promised at the time he took his vow to become a Nazirite.”

    
^22-23
 Now the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons that they are to give this special blessing to the people of Israel:
^24-26
 ‘May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.’
²⁷
 This is how Aaron and his sons shall call down my blessings
*
upon the people of Israel; and I myself will personally bless them.”