[12] Every first-offering of oil, and every first-offering of wine, their first-fruits of corn, whatsoever they may give to the Lord, to thee have I given them. [13] All the first-fruits that are in their land, whatsoever they shall offer to the Lord, shall be thine: every clean person in thy house shall eat them.
[14] Every devoted thing among the children of Israel shall be thine. [15] And every thing that opens the womb of all flesh, whatsoever they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be thine: only the first-born of men shall be surely redeemed, and thou shalt redeem the first-born of unclean cattle. [16] And the redemption of them shall be from a month old; their valuation of five shekels — it is twenty oboli according to the holy shekel. [17] But thou shalt not redeem the first-born of calves and the first-born of sheep and the first-born of goats; they are holy: and thou shalt pour their blood upon the altar, and thou shalt offer the fat as a burnt-offering for a smell of sweet savour to the Lord.
[18] And the flesh shall be thine, as also the breast of the wave-offering and as the right shoulder, it shall be thine. [19] Every special offering of the holy things, whatsoever the children of Israel shall specially offer to the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, a perpetual ordinance: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, for thee and thy seed after thee.
[20] And the Lord said to Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them; for I am thy portion and thine inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel. [21] And, behold, I have given to the sons of Levi every tithe in Israel for an inheritance for their services, whereinsoever they perform ministry in the tabernacle of witness. [22] And the children of Israel shall no more draw nigh to the tabernacle of witness to incur fatal guilt. [23] And the Levite himself shall perform the service of the tabernacle of witness; and they shall bear their iniquities, it is a perpetual statute throughout their generations; and in the midst of the children of Israel they shall not receive an inheritance. [24] Because I have given as a distinct portion to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the children of Israel, whatsoever they shall offer to the Lord; therefore I said to them, In the midst of the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
[25] And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [26] Thou shalt also speak to the Levites, and shalt say to them, If ye take the tithe from the children of Israel, which I have given you from them for an inheritance, then shall ye separate from it a heave-offering to the Lord, a tenth of the tenth. [27] And your heave-offerings shall be reckoned to you as corn from the floor, and an offering from the wine-press. [28] So shall ye also separate them from all the offerings of the Lord out of all your tithes, whatsoever ye shall receive from the children of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering to the Lord to Aaron the priest. [29] Of all your gifts ye shall offer an offering to the Lord, and of every first-fruit the consecrated part from it. [30] And thou shalt say to them, When ye shall offer the first-fruits from it, then shall it be reckoned to the Levites as produce from the threshing-floor, and as produce from the wine-press. [31] And ye shall eat it in any place, ye and your families; for this is your reward for your services in the tabernacle of witness. [32] And ye shall not bear sin by reason of it, for ye shall have offered an offering of first-fruits from it, and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that ye die not.
Chapter 19
[1] And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, [2] This is the constitution of the law, as the Lord has commanded, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and let them take for thee a red heifer without spot, which has no spot on her, and on which no yoke has been put. [3] And thou shalt give her to Eleazar the priest; and they shall bring her out of the camp into a clean place, and shall kill her before his face. [4] And Eleazar shall take of her blood, and sprinkle of her blood seven times in front of the tabernacle of witness. [5] And they shall burn her to ashes before him; and her skin and her flesh and her blood, with her dung, shall be consumed. [6] And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet wool, and they shall cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
[7] And the priest shall wash his garments, and bathe his body in water, and afterwards he shall go into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean till evening. [8] And he that burns her shall wash his garments, and bathe his body, and shall be unclean till evening. [9] And a clean man shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up in a clean place outside the camp; and they shall be for the congregation of the children of Israel to keep: it is the water of sprinkling, a purification. [10] And he that gathers up the ashes of the heifer shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean until evening; and it shall be a perpetual statute for the children of Israel and for the strangers joined to them.
[11] He that touches the dead body of any man, shall be unclean seven days. [12] He shall be purified on the third day and the seventh day, and shall be clean; but if he be not purged on the third day and the seventh day, he shall not be clean. [13] Every one that touches the carcase of the person of a man, if he should have died, and the other not have been purified, has defiled the tabernacle of the Lord: that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of sprinkling has not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. [14] And this is the law; if a man die in a house, every one that goes into the house, and all things in the house, shall be unclean seven days. [15] And every open vessel which has not a covering bound upon it, shall be unclean. [16] And every one who shall touch a man slain by violence, or a corpse, or human bone, or sepulchre, shall be unclean seven days.
[17] And they shall take for the unclean of the burnt ashes of purification, and they shall pour upon them running water into a vessel. [18] And a clean man shall take hyssop, and dip it into the water, and sprinkle it upon the house, and the furniture, and all the souls that are therein, and upon him that touched the human bone, or the slain man, or the corpse, or the tomb. [19] And the clean man shall sprinkle the water on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day, and on the seventh day he shall purify himself; and the other shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be unclean until evening. [20] And whatever man shall be defiled and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the congregation, because he has defiled the holy things of the Lord, because the water of sprinkling has not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean. [21] And it shall be to you a perpetual statute; and he that sprinkles the water of sprinkling shall wash his garments; and he that touches the water of sprinkling shall be unclean until evening. [22] And whatsoever the unclean man shall touch shall be unclean, and the soul that touches it shall be unclean till evening.
Chapter 20
[1] And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Sin, in the first month, and the people abode in Cades; and Mariam died there, and was buried there. [2] And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron. [3] And the people reviled Moses, saying, Would we had died in the destruction of our brethren before the Lord! [4] And wherefore have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, to kill us and our cattle? [5] And wherefore is this? Ye have brought us up out of Egypt, that we should come into this evil place; a place where there is no sowing, neither figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there water to drink.
[6] And Moses and Aaron went from before the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of witness, and they fell upon their faces; and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. [7] And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [8] Take thy rod, and call the assembly, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye to the rock before them, and it shall give forth its waters; and ye shall bring forth for them water out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their cattle. [9] And Moses took his rod which was before the Lord, as the Lord commanded. [10] And Moses and Aaron assembled the congregati
on before the rock, and said to them, Hear me, ye disobedient ones; must we bring you water out of this rock? [11] And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his rod twice; and much water came forth, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. [12] And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because ye have not believed me to sanctify me before the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. [13] This is the water of Strife, because the children of Israel spoke insolently before the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
[14] And Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, saying, Thus says thy brother Israel; Thou knowest all the distress that has come upon us. [15] And how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we sojourned in Egypt many days, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. [16] And we cried to the Lord, and the Lord heard our voice, and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt; and now we are in the city of Cades, at the extremity of thy coasts. [17] We will pass through thy land: we will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards, nor will we drink water out of thy cistern: we will go by the king’s highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, until we have passed thy borders. [18] And Edom said to him, Thou shalt not pass through me, and if otherwise, I will go forth to meet thee in war. [19] And the children of Israel say to him, We will pass by the mountain; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, I will pay thee: but it is no matter of importance, we will go by the mountain. [20] And he said, Thou shalt not pass through me; and Edom went forth to meet him with a great host, and a mighty hand. [21] So Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Israel turned away from him. [22] And they departed from Cades; and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to Mount Or.
[23] And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in mount Or, on the borders of the land of Edom, saying, [24] Let Aaron be added to his people; for ye shall certainly not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because ye provoked me at the water of strife. [25] Take Aaron, and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to the mount Or before all the congregation; [26] and take Aaron’s apparel from off him, and put it on Eleazar his son: and let Aaron die there and be added to his people. [27] And Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and took him up to mount Or, before all the congregation. [28] And he took Aaron’s garments off him, and put them on Eleazar his son, and Aaron died on the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. [29] And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead: and they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
Chapter 21
[1] And Arad the Chananitish king who dwelt by the wilderness, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharin; and he made war on Israel, and carried off some of them captives. [2] And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If thou wilt deliver this people into my power, I will devote it and its cities to thee. [3] And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered the Chananite into his power; and Israel devoted him and his cities, and they called the name of that place Anathema.
[4] And having departed from mount Or by the way leading to the Red Sea, they compassed the land of Edom, and the people lost courage by the way. [5] And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, Why is this? Hast thou brought us ought of Egypt to slay us in the wilderness? for there is not bread nor water; and our soul loathes this light bread. [6] And the Lord sent among the people deadly serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of the children of Israel died. [7] And the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee: pray therefore to the Lord, and let him take away the serpent from us. [8] And Moses prayed to the Lord for the people; and the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and put it on a signal-staff; and it shall come to pass that whenever a serpent shall bite a man, every one so bitten that looks upon it shall live. [9] And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a signal-staff: and it came to pass that whenever a serpent bit a man, and he looked on the brazen serpent, he lived.
[10] And the children of Israel departed, and encamped in Oboth. [11] And having departed from Oboth, they encamped in Achalgai, on the farther side in the wilderness, which is opposite Moab, toward the east. [12] And thence they departed, and encamped in the valley of Zared. [13] And they departed thence and encamped on the other side of Arnon in the wilderness, the country which extends from the coasts of the Amorites; for Arnon is the borders of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. [14] Therefore it is said in a book, A war of the Lord has set on fire Zoob, and the brooks of Arnon. [15] And he has appointed brooks to cause Er to dwell there; and it lies near to the coasts of Moab.
[16] And thence they came to the well; this is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people, and I will give them water to drink. [17] Then Israel sang this song at the well, Begin to sing of the well; [18] the princes digged it, the kings of the nations in their kingdom, in their lordship sank it in the rock: and they went from the well to Manthanain, [19] and from Manthanain to Naaliel, and from Naaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to Janen, which is in the plain of Moab as seen from the top of the quarried rock that looks toward the wilderness.
[20] And Moses sent ambassadors to Seon king of the Amorites, with peaceable words, saying, [21] We will pass through thy land, we will go by the road; we will not turn aside to the field or to the vineyard. [22] We will not drink water out of thy well; we will go by the king’s highway, until we have past thy boundaries. [23] And Seon did not allow Israel to pass through his borders, and Seon gathered all his people, and went out to set the battle in array against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jassa, and set the battle in array against Israel. [24] And Israel smote him with the slaughter of the sword, and they became possessors of his land, from Arnon to Jaboc, as far as the children of Amman, for Jazer is the borders of the children of Amman. [25] And Israel took all their cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Esebon, and in all cities belonging to it. [26] For Esebon is the city of Seon king of the Amorites; and he before fought against the king of Moab, and they took all his land, from Aroer to Arnon. [27] Therefore say they who deal in dark speeches, Come to Esebon, that the city of Seon may be built and prepared. [28] For a fire has gone forth from Esebon, a flame from the city of Seon, and has consumed as far as Moab, and devoured the pillars of Arnon. [29] Woe to thee, Moab; thou art lost, thou people of Chamos: their sons are sold for preservation, and their daughters are captives to Seon king of the Amorites. [30] And their seed shall perish from Esebon to Daebon; and their women have yet farther kindled a fire against Moab.
[31] And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites. [32] And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took it, and its villages, and cast out the Amorite that dwelt there. [33] And having returned, they went up the road that leads to Basan; and Og the king of Basan went forth to meet them, and all his people to war to Edrain. [34] And the Lord said to Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Seon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon. [35] And he smote him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be taken alive; and they inherited his land.
Chapter 22
[1] And the children of Israel departed, and encamped on the west of Moab by Jordan toward Jericho. [2] And when Balac son of Sepphor saw all that Israel did to the Amorite, [3] then Moab feared the people exceedingly because they were many; and Moab was grieved before the face of the children of Israel. [4] And Moab said to the elders of Madiam, Now shall this assembly lick up all that are round about us, as a calf would lick up the green herbs of the field: — and Balac son of Sepphor was king of Moab at that time. [5] And he sent ambassadors to Balaam the son of Beor, to Phathura, which is on a river of the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people is come out of Egypt, and behold it has covered the face of the earth, and it has en
camped close to me. [6] And now come, curse me this people, for it is stronger than we; if we may be able to smite some of them, and I will cast them out of the land: for I know that whomsoever thou dost bless, they are blessed, and whomsoever thou dost curse, they are cursed. [7] And the elders of Moab went, and the elders of Madiam, and their divining instruments were in their hands; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balac. [8] And he said to them, Tarry here the night, and I will answer you the things which the Lord shall say to me; and the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
[9] And God came to Balaam, and said to him, Who are these men with thee? [10] And Balaam said to God, Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab, sent them to me, saying, [11] Behold, a people has come forth out of Egypt, and has covered the face of the land, and it has encamped near to me; and now come, curse it for me, if indeed I shall be able to smite it, and cast it out of the land. [12] And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, neither shalt thou curse the people; for they are blessed. [13] And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balac, Depart quickly to your lord; God does not permit me to go with you. [14] And the princes of Moab rose, and came to Balac, and said, Balaam will not come with us.
[15] And Balac yet again sent more princes and more honourable than they. [16] And they came to Balaam, and they say to him, Thus says Balac the son of Sepphor: I beseech thee, delay not to come to me. [17] For I will greatly honour thee, and will do for thee whatsoever thou shalt say; come then, curse me this people. [18] And Balaam answered and said to the princes of Balac, If Balac would give me his house full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord God, to make it little or great in my mind. [19] And now do ye also tarry here this night, and I shall know what the Lord will yet say to me. [20] And God came to Balaam by night, and said to him, If these men are come to call thee, rise and follow them; nevertheless the word which I shall speak to thee, it shalt thou do.
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