The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  4‘then fhe who presents his offering to the LORD shall bring ga grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed hwith one-fourth of a hin of oil;

  5i‘and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each jlamb.

  6k‘Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil;

  7‘and as a drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a sweet aroma to the LORD.

  8‘And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering, or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or as a lpeace offering to the LORD,

  9‘then shall be offered mwith the young bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil;

  10‘and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

  11n‘Thus it shall be done for each young bull, for each ram, or for each lamb or young goat.

  12‘According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with everyone according to their number.

  13‘All who are native-born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

  14‘And if a stranger 2dwells with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD, just as you do, so shall he do.

  15o‘One 3ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.

  16‘One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.’ ”

  17Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

  18p“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you,

  19‘then it will be, when you eat of qthe bread of the land, that you shall offer up a heave offering to the LORD.

  20r‘You shall offer up a cake of the first of your ground meal as a heave offering; as sa heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you offer it up.

  21‘Of the first of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations.

  Laws Concerning Unintentional Sin

  22t‘If you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses—

  23‘all that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations—

  24‘then it will be, uif it is unintentionally committed, 4without the knowledge of the congregation, that the whole congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma to the LORD, vwith its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and wone kid of the goats as a sin offering.

  25x‘So the priest shall make atonement for the whole congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was unintentional; they shall bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their unintended sin.

  26‘It shall be forgiven the whole congregation of the children of Israel and the stranger who dwells among them, because all the people did it unintentionally.

  27‘And yif a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.

  28z‘So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.

  29a‘You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.

  Law Concerning Presumptuous Sin

  30b‘But the person who does anything 5presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one 6brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be 7cut off from among his people.

  31‘Because he has cdespised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his 8guilt shall be upon him.’ ”

  Penalty for Violating the Sabbath

  (Ex. 31:12–17)

  32Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, dthey found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

  33And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.

  34They put him eunder guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.

  35Then the LORD said to Moses, f“The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall gstone him with stones outside the camp.”

  36So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.

  Tassels on Garments

  37Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

  38“Speak to the children of Israel: Tell hthem to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.

  39“And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and iremember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you jmay not kfollow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

  40“and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be lholy for your God.

  41“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”

  Numbers 16

  Rebellion Against Moses and Aaron

  1Now aKorah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with bDathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men;

  2and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, crepresentatives of the congregation, men of renown.

  3dThey gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You 1take too much upon yourselves, for eall the congregation is holy, every one of them, fand the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

  4So when Moses heard it, he gfell on his face;

  5and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show who is hHis and who is iholy,2 and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to jcome near to Him.

  6“Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company;

  7“put fire in them and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be that the man whom the LORD chooses is the holy one. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

  8Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi:

  9“Is it ka small thing to you that the God of Israel has lseparated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to serve them;

  10“and that He has brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also?

  11“Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the LORD. mAnd what is Aaron that you complain against him?”

  12And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, “We will not come up!

  13“Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of na land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should okeep acting like a prince over us?

  14“Moreover pyou have not brought us into qa land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”

  15Then Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, r“Do not 3respect their offering. sI have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.”

&n
bsp; 16And Moses said to Korah, “Tomorrow, you and all your company be present tbefore the LORD—you and they, as well as Aaron.

  17“Let each take his censer and put incense in it, and each of you bring his censer before the LORD, two hundred and fifty censers; both you and Aaron, each with his censer.”

  18So every man took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of meeting with Moses and Aaron.

  19And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then uthe glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.

  20And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

  21v“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may wconsume them in a moment.”

  22Then they xfell4 on their faces, and said, “O God, ythe God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the zcongregation?”

  23So the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

  24“Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

  25Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

  26And he spoke to the congregation, saying, a“Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”

  27So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little bchildren.

  28And Moses said: c“By this you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them dof my own will.

  29“If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are evisited by the common fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me.

  30“But if the LORD creates fa new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they ggo down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the LORD.”

  31hNow it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,

  32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and iall the men with Korah, with all their goods.

  33So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.

  34Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”

  35And ja fire came out from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

  36Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

  37“Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for kthey are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away.

  38“The censers of lthese men who sinned 5against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the LORD, therefore they are holy; mand they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”

  39So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar,

  40to be a 6memorial to the children of Israel nthat no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the LORD had said to him through Moses.

  Complaints of the People

  41On the next day oall the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.”

  42Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly pthe cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.

  43Then Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of meeting.

  44And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

  45“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces.

  46So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire in it from the altar, put incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make 7atonement for them; qfor wrath has gone out from the LORD. The plague has begun.”

  47Then Aaron took it as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the assembly; and already the plague had begun among the people. So he put in the incense and made atonement for the people.

  48And he stood between the dead and the living; so rthe plague was stopped.

  49Now those who died in the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the Korah incident.

  50So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

  Numbers 17

  The Budding of Aaron’s Rod

  1And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

  2“Speak to the children of Israel, and get from them a rod from each father’s house, all their leaders according to their fathers’ houses—twelve rods. Write each man’s name on his rod.

  3“And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi. For there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house.

  4“Then you shall place them in the tabernacle of meeting before athe Testimony, bwhere I meet with you.

  5“And it shall be that the rod of the man cwhom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, dwhich they make against you.”

  6So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and each of their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

  7And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in ethe tabernacle of witness.

  8Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the frod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.

  9Then Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

  10And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring gAaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept has a sign against the rebels, ithat you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.”

  11Thus did Moses; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

  12So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish!

  13j“Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?”

  Numbers 18

  Duties of Priests and Levites

  1Then the LORD said to Aaron: a“You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bbear the 1iniquity related to the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity associated with your priesthood.

  2“Also bring with you your brethren of the ctribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be djoined with you and serve you while you and your sons are with you before the tabernacle of 2witness.

  3“They shall attend to your 3needs and eall the needs of the tabernacle; fbut they shall not come near the articles of the sanctuary and the altar, glest they die—they and you also.

  4“They shall be joined with you and attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, for all the work of the tabernacle; hbut an outsider shall not come near you.

  5“And you shall attend to ithe duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar, jthat there may be no more wrath on the children of Israel.

  6“Behold, I Myself have ktaken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; lthey are a gift to you, given by the LORD, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.

  7“Therefore myou and your sons with you shall attend to your priesthood for everything at the altar and nbehind the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood to you as a ogift for service, but t
he outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

  Offerings for Support of the Priests

  8And the LORD spoke to Aaron: “Here, pI Myself have also given you 4charge of My heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them qas a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance forever.

  9“This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every rgrain offering and every ssin offering and every ttrespass offering which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons.

  10u“In a most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you.

  11“This also is yours: vthe heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. wEveryone who is 5clean in your house may eat it.

  12x“All the 6best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, ytheir firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you.

  13“Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, zwhich they bring to the LORD, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

  14a“Every 7devoted thing in Israel shall be yours.

  15“Everything that first opens bthe womb of all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless cthe firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem.

  16“And those redeemed of the devoted things you shall redeem when one month old, daccording to your valuation, for five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is etwenty gerahs.

  17f“But the firstborn of a cow, the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy. gYou shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD.

  18“And their flesh shall be yours, just as the hwave8 breast and the right thigh are yours.

  19“All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; iit is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you.”