Num 19:1-22:1 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron , saying ,

Numbers 19

Ordinance of the Red Heifer

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an ^aunblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and ^bon which a yoke has never ^{▼▼Lit gone up}been mounted. 3 And you shall give it to ^dEleazar the priest, and it shall ^ebe brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and ^fsprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; ^gits hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take ^hcedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet material, and throw it into the midst of the ^{▼▼Lit burning of the heifer}burning heifer. 7 The priest ^jshall then wash his clothes and bathe his ^{▼▼Lit flesh}body in water, and afterward come into the camp; but the priest will be ^{▼▼I.e., ritually unclean, and so throughout the ch}unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns ^{▼▼Lit it}the heifer shall also wash his clothes in water and bathe his ^{▼▼Lit flesh}body in water, and will be unclean until evening. 9 Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them outside the camp in a clean place, and ^{▼▼Lit it shall be to the congregation...Israel, for a guarding as water of impurity}the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep them for ^pwater to remove impurity; it is ^{▼▼Or a sin offering}purification from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer ^rshall wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening; and it shall be a permanent statute for the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them.

11 ‘ ^sThe one who touches the dead body of any ^{▼▼Lit soul of mankind}person will also be unclean for seven days. 12 That one shall ^upurify himself with ^{▼▼Lit it}the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 ^wAnyone who touches a dead body, the ^{▼▼Lit soul}body of a person who has died, and does not purify himself, ^ydefiles the ^{▼▼Lit dwelling place}tabernacle of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from Israel. Since the water for impurity was not ^aasprinkled on him, he will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.

14 ‘This is the law when a person dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. 15 And every open container, which has no cover tied down on it, will be unclean. 16 ^abAlso, anyone who in the open field touches one who has been killed with a sword or one who has died naturally, or touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17 Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ^{▼▼Lit dust}ashes of the ^{▼▼Lit burning of the}burnt ^{▼▼Or sin offering
,} ^afpurification from sin and ^{▼▼Lit living}running water shall be ^{▼▼Lit given}added to them in a container. 18 And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one who was killed or the one who died naturally, or the grave. 19 Then the clean person ^aishall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and will be clean by evening.

20 ‘But the person who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has ^ajdefiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, so he is unclean. 21 So it shall be a permanent statute for them. And the one ^akwho sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water for impurity will be unclean until evening. 22 ^alFurthermore, anything that the unclean person touches will be unclean; and the person who touches it will be unclean until evening.’”

Numbers 20

Death of Miriam

1 Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the ^amwilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

2 ^anThere was no water for the congregation, ^aoand they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 ^apThen the people argued with Moses and spoke, saying, “ ^aqIf only we had perished ^arwhen our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 ^asWhy then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our livestock to die ^{▼▼Lit there}here? 5 Why did you make us come up from Egypt, to bring us into this wretched place? ^auIt is not a place of ^{▼▼Lit seed}grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink!” 6 Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and ^awfell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them; 7 then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

The Waters of Meribah

8 “Take ^axthe staff; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it shall yield its water. So you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and have the congregation and their livestock drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff ^ayfrom before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “ ^azListen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and ^bawater came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “ ^bbSince you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” 13 Those were called the waters of ^{▼▼I.e., contention
,} ^bdMeribah, ^{▼▼Or where}because the sons of Israel argued with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

14 From Kadesh Moses then sent messengers to ^bfthe king of Edom to say, “This is what your brother Israel has said: ‘You ^bgknow all the hardship that has ^{▼▼Lit found}overtaken us; 15 that our fathers went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our fathers badly. 16 But ^biwhen we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and sent ^bjan angel, and brought us out from Egypt; now behold, we are at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please ^bklet us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s road, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.’”

18 ^blEdom, however, said to him, “You shall not pass through ^{▼▼Lit me}us, or I will come out with the sword against you.” 19 Again, the sons of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the road, and if I and ^bnmy livestock do drink any of your water, ^bothen I will ^{▼▼Lit give}pay its price. Let me only pass through on my feet, ^{▼▼Or no great thing}nothing more.” 20 But he said, “ ^brYou shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against him with a heavy ^{▼▼Lit people}force and a strong hand. 21 ^btSo Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through his territory; ^buthen Israel turned away from him.

22 Now when they set out from ^bvKadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

Death of Aaron

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at ^bwMount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 “Aaron will be ^bxgathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because ^byyou rebelled against My ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and his son ^caEleazar, and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 Then strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be ^cbgathered to his people and will die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And after Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and ^ccput them on his son Eleazar, ^cdAaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, the whole house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty ^cedays.

Numbers 21

Arad Conquered

1 When the Canaanite, the king of ^cfArad, who lived in the ^{▼▼I.e., South country}Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 So ^chIsrael made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed hand over this people to me, then I will ^{▼▼Lit devote to destruction}utterly destroy their cities.” 3 The Lord heard the voice of Israel and turned over the Canaanites; then they ^{▼▼Lit devoted to destruction}utterly destroyed them and their cities. And the place was named ^{▼▼I.e., a devoted thing; or Destruction
,} ^clHormah.

4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the ^{▼▼Lit Sea of Reeds}Red Sea, to ^cngo around the land of Edom; and the ^{▼▼Lit soul of the people was short}people became impatient because of the journey. 5 So the people spoke against God and Moses: “ ^cpWhy have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no ^{▼▼Lit bread}food and no water, and ^{▼▼Lit our soul is disgusted
,} ^cswe are disgusted with ^{▼▼I.e., the manna}this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

6 ^cuThen the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and ^cvthey bit the people, so that ^cwmany people of Israel died. 7 ^cxSo the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; ^cyintercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “ ^{▼▼Lit Make for yourself}Make a ^dafiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” 9 So Moses made a ^dbbronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

10 ^dcNow the sons of Israel moved out and camped in Oboth. 11 Then they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, to the ^{▼▼Lit sunrise}east. 12 ^deFrom there they set out and camped in ^{▼▼I.e., a dry stream bed, except in the rainy season}Wadi Zered. 13 From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites; ^dgfor the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 For that reason it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah,
And the ^{▼▼I.e., dry stream beds}wadis of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the wadis
That extends to the site of ^diAr,
And leans to the border of Moab.”

16 ^djFrom there they continued to ^{▼▼I.e., a well}Beer, that is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Assemble the people, that I may give them water.”

17 ^dlThen Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
18 “The well, which the leaders dug,
Which the nobles of the people hollowed out,
With the scepter and with their staffs.”

And from the wilderness they continued to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the land of Moab, at the top of Pisgah, which overlooks the ^{▼▼Or Jeshimon}desert.

Two Victories

21 ^dnThen Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “ ^doLet me pass through your land. We will not turn off into field or vineyard; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the king’s road until we have passed through your border.” 23 ^dpBut Sihon would not permit Israel to pass through his border. Instead, Sihon gathered all his people and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and came to ^dqJahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then ^drIsrael struck him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the sons of Ammon; for the ^dsborder of the sons of Ammon was ^{▼▼So LXX; MT strong}Jazer. 25 Israel took all these cities, and ^duIsrael lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all her ^{▼▼Lit daughters}villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. 27 For that reason those who use proverbs say,
“Come to Heshbon! Let it be built!
So let the city of Sihon be established.
28 “ ^dwFor a fire spread from Heshbon,
A flame from the town of Sihon;
It devoured ^dxAr of Moab,
The ^{▼▼Lit lords of the
,} ^dzdominant ^{▼▼Or Bamoth}heights of the Arnon.
29 “ ^ebWoe to you, Moab!
You are destroyed, people of ^ecChemosh!
^edHe has given his sons as fugitives,
^eeAnd his daughters into captivity,
To an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 “But we have shot them down with arrows,
Heshbon is destroyed as far as ^efDibon,
Then we have laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to Medeba.”

31 So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 Now Moses sent men to spy out ^egJazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

33 ^ehThen they turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og the king of Bashan went out against them ^{▼▼Lit he and}with all his people, for battle at ^ejEdrei. 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “ ^ekDo not fear him, for I have handed him over to you, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.” 35 So ^elthey ^{▼▼Lit struck}killed him and his sons and all his people, until there was no survivor left; and they took possession of his land.

Numbers 22:1

Balak Sends for Balaam

1 ^enThen the sons of Israel journeyed on, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.