The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  35‘On the eighth day you shall have a nsacred1 assembly. You shall do no customary work.

  36‘You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven lambs in their first year without blemish,

  37‘and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance;

  38‘also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.

  39‘These you shall present to the LORD at your oappointed feasts (besides your pvowed offerings and your freewill offerings) as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.’ ”

  40So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

  Numbers 30

  The Law Concerning Vows

  1Then Moses spoke to athe heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded:

  2b“If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or cswears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall ddo according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

  3“Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father’s house in her youth,

  4“and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father 1holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand.

  5“But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her.

  6“If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself,

  7“and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand.

  8“But if her husband eoverrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her.

  9“Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

  10“If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath,

  11“and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand.

  12“But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them 2void, and the LORD will release her.

  13“Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void.

  14“Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them.

  15“But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”

  16These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.

  Numbers 31

  Vengeance on the Midianites

  1And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

  2a“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall bbe gathered to your people.”

  3So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the LORD on cMidian.

  4“A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”

  5So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

  6Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and dthe signal trumpets in his hand.

  7And they warred against the Midianites, just as the LORD commanded Moses, and ethey killed all the fmales.

  8They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—gEvi, Rekem, hZur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. iBalaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.

  9And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods.

  10They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts.

  11And jthey took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast.

  Return from the War

  12Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

  13And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp.

  14But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.

  15And Moses said to them: “Have you kept kall the women alive?

  16“Look, lthese women caused the children of Israel, through the mcounsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and nthere was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.

  17“Now therefore, okill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

  18“But keep alive pfor yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.

  19“And as for you, qremain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and rwhoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.

  20“Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”

  21Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the 1ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses:

  22“Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

  23“everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified swith the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water.

  24t“And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”

  Division of the Plunder

  25Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

  26“Count up the plunder that was 2taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation;

  27“and udivide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.

  28“And levy a 3tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: vone of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep;

  29“take it from their half, and wgive it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD.

  30“And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take xone of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites ywho 4keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”

  31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

  32The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,

  33seventy-two thousand cattle,

  34sixty-one thousand donkeys,

  35and thirty-two thousand persons in all, o
f women who had not known a man intimately.

  36And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;

  37and the LORD’s 5tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.

  38The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.

  39The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.

  40The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

  41So Moses gave the tribute which was the LORD’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, zas the LORD commanded Moses.

  42And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought—

  43now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

  44thirty-six thousand cattle,

  45thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

  46and sixteen thousand persons—

  47and afrom the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

  48Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses;

  49and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing.

  50“Therefore we have brought an offering for the LORD, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, bto make 6atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”

  51So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments.

  52And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

  53c(The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

  54And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting das a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

  Numbers 32

  The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan

  (Deut. 3:12–22)

  1Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of aJazer and the land of bGilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,

  2the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,

  3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, cNimrah, dHeshbon, Elealeh, eShebam, Nebo, and fBeon,

  4“the country gwhich the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”

  5Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.”

  6And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?

  7“Now why will you hdiscourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?

  8“Thus your fathers did iwhen I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea jto see the land.

  9“For kwhen they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.

  10l“So the LORD’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying,

  11‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, mfrom twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because nthey have not wholly followed Me,

  12‘except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, ofor they have wholly followed the LORD.’

  13“So the LORD’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them pwander in the wilderness forty years, until qall the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.

  14“And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the rfierce anger of the LORD against Israel.

  15“For if you sturn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

  16Then they came near to him and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,

  17“but twe ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

  18u“We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has 1received his inheritance.

  19“For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, vbecause our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

  20Then wMoses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the LORD for the war,

  21“and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies from before Him,

  22“and xthe land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward yyou may return and be blameless before the LORD and before Israel; and zthis land shall be your possession before the LORD.

  23“But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure ayour sin will find you out.

  24b“Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do 2what has proceeded out of your mouth.”

  25And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands.

  26c“Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead;

  27d“but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.”

  28So Moses gave command econcerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.

  29And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession.

  30“But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”

  31Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do.

  32“We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.”

  33So fMoses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, gthe kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country.

  34And the children of Gad built hDibon and Ataroth and iAroer,

  35Atroth and Shophan and jJazer and Jogbehah,

  36kBeth Nimrah and Beth Haran, lfortified cities, and folds for sheep.

  37And the children of Reuben built mHeshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim,

  38nNebo and oBaal Meon p(their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.

  39And the children of qMachir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and 3dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.

  40So Moses rgave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it.

  41Also sJair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them tHavoth Jair.4

  42Then Nobah went a
nd took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.

  Numbers 33

  Israel’s Journey from Egypt Reviewed

  1These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the ahand of Moses and Aaron.

  2Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD. And these are their journeys according to their starting points:

  3They bdeparted from Rameses in cthe first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out dwith boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians.

  4For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, ewhom the LORD had killed among them. Also fon their gods the LORD had executed judgments.

  5gThen the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

  6They departed from hSuccoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

  7iThey moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol.

  8They departed 1from before Hahiroth and jpassed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days’ journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah.

  9They moved from Marah and kcame to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there.

  10They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

  11They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the lWilderness of Sin.

  12They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

  13They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

  14They moved from Alush and camped at mRephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

  15They departed from Rephidim and camped in the nWilderness of Sinai.

  16They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped oat 2Kibroth Hattaavah.

  17They departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and pcamped at Hazeroth.

  18They departed from Hazeroth and camped at qRithmah.

  19They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.