# verses

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The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface.


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And God said, "Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered into one place so dry ground may appear." And so it was.


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Then God said, "Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. The seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And so it was.


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The land was filled with seed-bearing plants and trees, and their seeds produced plants and trees of like kind. And God saw that it was good.


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And God said, "Let bright lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs to mark off the seasons, the days, and the years.


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For God made two great lights, the sun and the moon, to shine down upon the earth. The greater one, the sun, presides during the day; the lesser one, the moon, presides through the night. He also made the stars.


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to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.


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And God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."


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So God created great sea creatures and every sort of fish and every kind of bird. And God saw that it was good.


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Then God blessed them, saying, "Let the fish multiply and fill the oceans. Let the birds increase and fill the earth."


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And God said, "Let the earth bring forth every kind of animal—livestock, small animals, and wildlife." And so it was.


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God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to reproduce more of its own kind. And God saw that it was good.


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Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life—the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals."


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So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.


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God blessed them and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals."


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And God said, "Look! I have given you the seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.


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And I have given all the grasses and other green plants to the animals and birds for their food." And so it was.


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Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way. This all happened on the sixth day.


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And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.


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This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth,


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there were no plants or grain growing on the earth, for the Lord God had not sent any rain. And no one was there to cultivate the soil.


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And the Lord God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person.


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Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had created.


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And the Lord God planted all sorts of trees in the garden—beautiful trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


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One of these branches is the Pishon, which flows around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found.


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The third branch is the Tigris, which flows to the east of Asshur. The fourth branch is the Euphrates.


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except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die."


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And the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him."


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So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird. He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and Adam chose a name for each one.


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He gave names to all the livestock, birds, and wild animals. But still there was no companion suitable for him.


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So the Lord God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. He took one of Adam's ribs and closed up the place from which he had taken it.


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"At last!" Adam exclaimed. "She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken out of a man."


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This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.


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Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?"


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"It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die."


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"God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil."


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The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too.


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At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.


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Toward evening they heard the Lord God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees.


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"Who told you that you were naked?" the Lord God asked. "Have you eaten the fruit I commanded you not to eat?"


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Then the Lord God asked the woman, "How could you do such a thing?" "The serpent tricked me," she replied. "That's why I ate it."


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So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you will be punished. You are singled out from all the domestic and wild animals of the whole earth to be cursed. You will grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly.


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From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."


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Then he said to the woman, "You will bear children with intense pain and suffering. And though your desire will be for your husband, he will be your master."


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And to Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.


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All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from dust, and to the dust you will return."


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Then the Lord God said, "The people have become as we are, knowing everything, both good and evil. What if they eat the fruit of the tree of life? Then they will live forever!"


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So the Lord God banished Adam and his wife from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made.


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After banishing them from the garden, the Lord God stationed mighty angelic beings to the east of Eden. And a flaming sword flashed back and forth, guarding the way to the tree of life.


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Now Adam slept with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When the time came, she gave birth to Cain, and she said, "With the Lord's help, I have brought forth a man!"


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Later she gave birth to a second son and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer.


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while Abel brought several choice lambs from the best of his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his offering,


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You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it."


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Later Cain suggested to his brother, Abel, "Let's go out into the fields." And while they were there, Cain attacked and killed his brother.


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Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?" "I don't know!" Cain retorted. "Am I supposed to keep track of him wherever he goes?"


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But the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen—your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground!


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No longer will it yield abundant crops for you, no matter how hard you work! From now on you will be a homeless fugitive on the earth, constantly wandering from place to place."


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You have banished me from my land and from your presence; you have made me a wandering fugitive. All who see me will try to kill me!"


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The Lord replied, "They will not kill you, for I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.


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Then Cain's wife became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and they named him Enoch. When Cain founded a city, he named it Enoch after his son.


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Enoch was the father of Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. Methushael was the father of Lamech.


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To Lamech's other wife, Zillah, was born Tubal-cain. He was the first to work with metal, forging instruments of bronze and iron. Tubal-cain had a sister named Naamah.


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One day Lamech said to Adah and Zillah, "Listen to me, my wives. I have killed a youth who attacked and wounded me.


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If anyone who kills Cain is to be punished seven times, anyone who takes revenge against me will be punished seventy-seven times!"


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Adam slept with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, for she said, "God has granted me another son in place of Abel, the one Cain killed."


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When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. It was during his lifetime that people first began to worship the Lord.


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This is the history of the descendants of Adam. When God created people, he made them in the likeness of God.


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After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived another 300 years in close fellowship with God, and he had other sons and daughters.


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He enjoyed a close relationship with God throughout his life. Then suddenly, he disappeared because God took him.


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Lamech named his son Noah, for he said, "He will bring us relief from the painful labor of farming this ground that the Lord has cursed."


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Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, they will live no more than 120 years."


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In those days, and even afterward, giants lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with human women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes mentioned in legends of old.


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Now the Lord observed the extent of the people's wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil.


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And the Lord said, "I will completely wipe out this human race that I have created. Yes, and I will destroy all the animals and birds, too. I am sorry I ever made them."


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This is the history of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God's will and enjoyed a close relationship with him.


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So God said to Noah, "I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Yes, I will wipe them all from the face of the earth!


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"Make a boat from resinous wood and seal it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior.


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Construct an opening all the way around the boat, 18 inches below the roof. Then put three decks inside the boat—bottom, middle, and upper—and put a door in the side.


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"Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing. Everything on earth will die!


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Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.


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Pairs of each kind of bird and each kind of animal, large and small alike, will come to you to be kept alive.


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Finally, the day came when the Lord said to Noah, "Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I consider you alone to be righteous.


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Take along seven pairs of each animal that I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others.


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Then select seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that every kind of living creature will survive the flood.


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One week from today I will begin forty days and forty nights of rain. And I will wipe from the earth all the living things I have created."


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With them were all the various kinds of animals—those approved for eating and sacrifice and those that were not—along with all the birds and other small animals.


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When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the underground waters burst forth on the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky.


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But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and their wives.


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With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of breathing animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds and flying insects of every kind.


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All the living things on earth died—birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all kinds of small animals, and all the people.


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Every living thing on the earth was wiped out—people, animals both large and small, and birds. They were all destroyed, and only Noah was left alive, along with those who were with him in the boat.


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But God remembered Noah and all the animals in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the waters, and the floods began to disappear.


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exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.


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Two and a half months later, as the waters continued to go down, other mountain peaks began to appear.


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But the dove found no place to land because the water was still too high. So it returned to the boat, and Noah held out his hand and drew the dove back inside.


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This time, toward evening, the bird returned to him with a fresh olive leaf in its beak. Noah now knew that the water was almost gone.


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Finally, when Noah was 601 years old, ten and a half months after the flood began, Noah lifted back the cover to look. The water was drying up.


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Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed on it the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.


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And the Lord was pleased with the sacrifice and said to himself, "I will never again curse the earth, destroying all living things, even though people's thoughts and actions are bent toward evil from childhood.


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As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night."


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All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power.


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And murder is forbidden. Animals that kill people must die, and any person who murders must be killed.


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Yes, you must execute anyone who murders another person, for to kill a person is to kill a living being made in God's image.


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And God said, "I am giving you a sign as evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures.


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I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth.


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and I will remember my covenant with you and with everything that lives. Never again will there be a flood that will destroy all life.


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When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth."


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Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah, survived the Flood with their father. (Ham is the ancestor of the Canaanites.)


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Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, walked backward into the tent, and covered their father's naked body. As they did this, they looked the other way so they wouldn't see him naked.


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Then he cursed the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham: "A curse on the Canaanites! May they be the lowest of servants to the descendants of Shem and Japheth."


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May God enlarge the territory of Japheth, and may he share the prosperity of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant."


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This is the history of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the Flood.


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The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.


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He was a mighty hunter in the Lord's sight. His name became proverbial, and people would speak of someone as being "like Nimrod, a mighty hunter in the Lord's sight."


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He built the foundation for his empire in the land of Babylonia, with the cities of Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh.


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Canaan's oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites,


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Eventually the territory of Canaan spread from Sidon to Gerar, near Gaza, and to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha.


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These were the descendants of Ham, identified according to their tribes, languages, territories, and nations.


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Sons were also born to Shem, the older brother of Japheth. Shem was the ancestor of all the descendants of Eber.


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Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg—"division"—for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups and dispersed. His brother's name was Joktan.


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The descendants of Joktan lived in the area extending from Mesha toward the eastern hills of Sephar.


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These were the descendants of Shem, identified according to their tribes, languages, territories, and nations.


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These are the families that came from Noah's sons, listed nation by nation according to their lines of descent. The earth was populated with the people of these nations after the Flood.


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They began to talk about construction projects. "Come," they said, "let's make great piles of burnt brick and collect natural asphalt to use as mortar.


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Let's build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies—a monument to our greatness! This will bring us together and keep us from scattering all over the world."


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"Look!" he said. "If they can accomplish this when they have just begun to take advantage of their common language and political unity, just think of what they will do later. Nothing will be impossible for them!


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Come, let's go down and give them different languages. Then they won't be able to understand each other."


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That is why the city was called Babel, because it was there that the Lord confused the people by giving them many languages, thus scattering them across the earth.


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This is the history of Shem's family. When Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. This happened two years after the Flood.


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This is the history of Terah's family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran had a son named Lot.


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But while Haran was still young, he died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the place of his birth. He was survived by Terah, his father.


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Meanwhile, Abram married Sarai, and his brother Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of their brother Haran. (Milcah had a sister named Iscah.)


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Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot (his son Haran's child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled there.


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Then the Lord told Abram, "Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.


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I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others.


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I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you."


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So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.


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He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people who had joined his household at Haran—and finally arrived in Canaan.


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Traveling through Canaan, they came to a place near Shechem and set up camp beside the oak at Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.


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Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I am going to give this land to your offspring." And Abram built an altar there to commemorate the Lord's visit.


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After that, Abram traveled southward and set up camp in the hill country between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar and worshiped the Lord.


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When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife. Let's kill him; then we can have her!'


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But if you say you are my sister, then the Egyptians will treat me well because of their interest in you, and they will spare my life."


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When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to their king, the pharaoh, and she was taken into his harem.


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Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.


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So Pharaoh called for Abram and accused him sharply. "What is this you have done to me?" he demanded. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?


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Why were you willing to let me marry her, saying she was your sister? Here is your wife! Take her and be gone!"


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Pharaoh then sent them out of the country under armed escort—Abram and his wife, with all their household and belongings.


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So they left Egypt and traveled north into the Negev—Abram with his wife and Lot and all that they owned,


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Then they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where they had camped before.


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But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together. There were too many animals for the available pastureland.


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So an argument broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. At that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.


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Then Abram talked it over with Lot. "This arguing between our herdsmen has got to stop," he said. "After all, we are close relatives!


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I'll tell you what we'll do. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want that area over there, then I'll stay here. If you want to stay in this area, then I'll move on to another place."


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Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)


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Lot chose that land for himself—the Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.


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So while Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom, among the cities of the plain.


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Then Abram moved his camp to the oak grove owned by Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.


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About this time war broke out in the region. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim


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fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (now called Zoar).


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The kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela formed an alliance and mobilized their armies in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea).


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For twelve years they had all been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but now in the thirteenth year they rebelled.


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One year later, Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived. They conquered the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in the plain of Kiriathaim,


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Then they swung around to En-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and destroyed the Amalekites, and also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.


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But now the army of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (now called Zoar) prepared for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea


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against King Kedorlaomer of Elam and the kings of Goiim, Babylonia, and Ellasar—four kings against five.


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As it happened, the valley was filled with tar pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some slipped into the tar pits, while the rest escaped into the mountains.


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The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and began their long journey home, taking all the wealth and food with them.


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One of the men who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was camped at the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram's allies.


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When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called together the men born into his household, 318 of them in all. He chased after Kedorlaomer's army until he caught up with them in Dan.


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There he divided his men and attacked during the night from several directions. Kedorlaomer's army fled, but Abram chased them to Hobah, north of Damascus.


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Abram and his allies recovered everything—the goods that had been taken, Abram's nephew Lot with his possessions, and all the women and other captives.


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As Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).


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Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.


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And blessed be God Most High, who has helped you conquer your enemies." Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.


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The king of Sodom told him, "Give back my people who were captured. But you may keep for yourself all the goods you have recovered."


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that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from you. Otherwise you might say, 'I am the one who made Abram rich!'


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All I'll accept is what these young men of mine have already eaten. But give a share of the goods to my allies—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre."


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Afterward the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great."


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But Abram replied, "O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since I don't have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.


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Then the Lord said to him, "No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you."


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Then the Lord brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, "Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that—too many to count!"


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Then the Lord told him, "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land."


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Then the Lord told him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."


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Abram took all these and killed them. He cut each one down the middle and laid the halves side by side. He did not, however, divide the birds in half.


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That evening, as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. He saw a terrifying vision of darkness and horror.


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Then the Lord told Abram, "You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years.


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But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.


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After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, when the sin of the Amorites has run its course."


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As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses.


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So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, "I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—


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and gave her to Abram so she could bear his children. "The Lord has kept me from having any children," Sarai said to Abram. "Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her." And Abram agreed.


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So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram first arrived in the land of Canaan.)


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So Abram slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarai with contempt.


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Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! Now this servant of mine is pregnant, and she despises me, though I myself gave her the privilege of sleeping with you. The Lord will make you pay for doing this to me!"


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Abram replied, "Since she is your servant, you may deal with her as you see fit." So Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away.


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The angel said to her, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I am running away from my mistress," she replied.


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And the angel also said, "You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard about your misery.


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This son of yours will be a wild one—free and untamed as a wild donkey! He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live at odds with the rest of his brothers."


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Thereafter, Hagar referred to the Lord, who had spoken to her, as "the God who sees me," for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me!"


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When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.


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"This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of not just one nation, but a multitude of nations!


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What's more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram; now you will be known as Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.


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"I will continue this everlasting covenant between us, generation after generation. It will continue between me and your offspring forever. And I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.


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Yes, I will give all this land of Canaan to you and to your offspring forever. And I will be their God.


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"Your part of the agreement," God told Abraham, "is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.


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This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised;


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the flesh of his foreskin must be cut off. This will be a sign that you and they have accepted this covenant.


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Every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased.


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Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant."


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Then God added, "Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai; from now on you will call her Sarah.


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And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings will be among her descendants!"


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Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. "How could I become a father at the age of one hundred?" he wondered. "Besides, Sarah is ninety; how could she have a baby?"


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But God replied, "Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my everlasting covenant with him and his descendants.


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As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will cause him to multiply and become a great nation. Twelve princes will be among his descendants.


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On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and every other male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins, exactly as God had told him.


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along with all the other men and boys of the household, whether they were born there or bought as servants.


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The Lord appeared again to Abraham while he was camped near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent,


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he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them, welcoming them by bowing low to the ground.


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Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey." "All right," they said. "Do as you have said."


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So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Get three measures of your best flour, and bake some bread."


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When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees.


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Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby.


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she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master—my husband—is also so old?"


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Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?'


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Is anything too hard for the Lord? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son."


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Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."


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Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way.


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"For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.


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I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised."


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So the Lord told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked.


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Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city—will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes?


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Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"


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And the Lord replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."


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Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.


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Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?" And the Lord said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five."


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Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?" And the Lord replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty."


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"Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak—suppose only thirty are found?" And the Lord replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty."


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Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?" And the Lord said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."


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Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?" And the Lord said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it."


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The Lord went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.


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That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground.


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"My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again." "Oh no," they said, "we'll just spend the night out here in the city square."


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But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast. After the meal,


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as they were preparing to retire for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house.


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They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them."


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Look—I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection."


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"Stand back!" they shouted. "Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door.


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"Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" the angels asked. "Get them out of this place—sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else.


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For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it."


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So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fiances, "Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is going to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking.


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At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city."


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When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.


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"Run for your lives!" the angels warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die."


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"You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.


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See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved."


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But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." From that time on, that village was known as Zoar.


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He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life—people, plants, and animals alike.


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The next morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord's presence.


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He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there.


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But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.


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Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters.


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One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children.


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Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father."


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So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.


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The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved."


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So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.


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When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites.


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When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi. He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.


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Now Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled for a while between Kadesh and Shur at a place called Gerar.


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Abraham told people there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. So King Abimelech sent for her and had her brought to him at his palace.


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But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married."


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Abraham told me, 'She is my sister,' and she herself said, 'Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence!"


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"Yes, I know you are innocent," God replied. "That is why I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her.


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Now return her to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don't return her to him, you can be sure that you and your entire household will die."


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Abimelech got up early the next morning and hastily called a meeting of all his servants. When he told them what had happened, great fear swept through the crowd.


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Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What is this you have done to us?" he demanded. "What have I done to you that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? This kind of thing should not be done!


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"Well," Abraham said, "I figured this to be a godless place. I thought, 'They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.'


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When God sent me to travel far from my father's home, I told her, 'Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister.' "


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Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and servants—both men and women—and gave them to Abraham, and he returned his wife, Sarah, to him.


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Then he turned to Sarah. "Look," he said, "I am giving your 'brother' a thousand pieces of silver to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter."


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Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and the other women of the household, so they could have children.


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For the Lord had stricken all the women with infertility as a warning to Abimelech for having taken Abraham's wife.


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Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would.


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For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!"


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As time went by and Isaac grew and was weaned, Abraham gave a big party to celebrate the happy occasion.


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So she turned to Abraham and demanded, "Get rid of that servant and her son. He is not going to share the family inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won't have it!"


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But God told Abraham, "Do not be upset over the boy and your servant wife. Do just as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.


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So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food for the journey, and strapped a container of water to Hagar's shoulders. He sent her away with their son, and she walked out into the wilderness of Beersheba, wandering aimlessly.


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Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. "I don't want to watch the boy die," she said, as she burst into tears.


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Then God heard the boy's cries, and the angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, "Hagar, what's wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy's cries from the place where you laid him.


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Then God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well. She immediately filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.


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About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. "It is clear that God helps you in everything you do," Abimelech said.


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"Swear to me in God's name that you won't deceive me, my children, or my grandchildren. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living."


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Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's servants had taken violently from Abraham's servants.


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"This is the first I've heard of it," Abimelech said. "And I have no idea who is responsible. Why didn't you say something about this before?"


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So ever since, that place has been known as Beersheba—"well of the oath"—because that was where they had sworn an oath.


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After making their covenant, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines.


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Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and he worshiped the Lord, the Eternal God, at that place.


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Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am."


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"Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."


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The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go.


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"Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the young men. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back."


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Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the knife and the fire. As the two of them went on together,


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Isaac said, "Father?" "Yes, my son," Abraham replied. "We have the wood and the fire," said the boy, "but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"


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When they arrived at the place where God had told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the wood.


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At that moment the angel of the Lord shouted to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes," he answered. "I'm listening."


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"Lay down the knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me."


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Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son.


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Abraham named the place "The Lord Will Provide." This name has now become a proverb: "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."


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"This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by my own self that


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I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies,


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and through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me."


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Then they returned to Abraham's young men and traveled home again to Beersheba, where Abraham lived for quite some time.


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In addition to his eight sons from Milcah, Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.


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she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.


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"Here I am, a stranger in a foreign land, with no place to bury my wife. Please let me have a piece of land for a burial plot."


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"Certainly, for you are an honored prince among us. It will be a privilege to have you choose the finest of our tombs so you can bury her there."


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to let me have the cave of Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I want to pay the full price, of course, whatever is publicly agreed upon, so I may have a permanent burial place for my family."


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Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the elders of the town.


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"No, sir," he said to Abraham, "please listen to me. I will give you the cave and the field. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead."


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and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. "No, listen to me," he insisted. "I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there."


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"the land is worth four hundred pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead."


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So Abraham paid Ephron the amount he had suggested, four hundred pieces of silver, as was publicly agreed.


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He bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees nearby.


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They became Abraham's permanent possession by the agreement made in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.


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"Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not let my son marry one of these local Canaanite women.


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The servant asked, "But suppose I can't find a young woman who will travel so far from home? May I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives?"


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For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my offspring. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a young woman there to be my son's wife.


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If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there."


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He loaded ten of Abraham's camels with gifts and set out, taking with him the best of everything his master owned. He traveled to Aram-naharaim and went to the village where Abraham's brother Nahor had settled.


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There the servant made the camels kneel down beside a well just outside the village. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.


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"O Lord, God of my master," he prayed. "Give me success and show kindness to my master, Abraham. Help me to accomplish the purpose of my journey.


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See, here I am, standing beside this spring, and the young women of the village are coming out to draw water.


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This is my request. I will ask one of them for a drink. If she says, 'Yes, certainly, and I will water your camels, too!'—let her be the one you have appointed as Isaac's wife. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."


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As he was still praying, a young woman named Rebekah arrived with a water jug on her shoulder. Her father was Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah.


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Now Rebekah was very beautiful, and she was a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.


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So she quickly emptied the jug into the watering trough and ran down to the well again. She kept carrying water to the camels until they had finished drinking.


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The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not she was the one the Lord intended him to meet.


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Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he gave her a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.


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"Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham," he said. "The Lord has been so kind and faithful to Abraham, for he has led me straight to my master's relatives."


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When he saw the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard her story, he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. Laban said to him,


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"Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the Lord. Why do you stand here outside the village when we have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels!"


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So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw to bed them down, fed them, and provided water for the camel drivers to wash their feet.


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Then supper was served. But Abraham's servant said, "I don't want to eat until I have told you why I have come." "All right," Laban said, "tell us your mission."


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"And the Lord has blessed my master richly; he has become a great man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many servants and camels and donkeys.


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When Sarah, my master's wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master's son, and my master has given him everything he owns.


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Instead, I was to come to his relatives here in this far-off land, to his father's home. I was told to bring back a young woman from here to marry his son.


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'You will,' he told me, 'for the Lord, in whose presence I have walked, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must get a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father's family.


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"So this afternoon when I came to the spring I prayed this prayer: 'O Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, if you are planning to make my mission a success, please guide me in a special way.


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Here I am, standing beside this spring. I will say to some young woman who comes to draw water, "Please give me a drink of water!"


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And she will reply, "Certainly! And I'll water your camels, too!" Lord, let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master's son.'


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"Before I had finished praying these words, I saw Rebekah coming along with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water and filled the jug. So I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'


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She quickly lowered the jug from her shoulder so I could drink, and she said, 'Certainly, sir, and I will water your camels, too!' And she did.


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When I asked her whose daughter she was, she told me, 'My father is Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife, Milcah.' So I gave her the ring and the bracelets.


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"Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me along the right path to find a wife from the family of my master's relatives.


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So tell me—will you or won't you show true kindness to my master? When you tell me, then I'll know what my next step should be, whether to move this way or that."


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Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has directed."


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Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and lovely clothing for Rebekah. He also gave valuable presents to her mother and brother.


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Then they had supper, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight. But early the next morning, he said, "Send me back to my master."


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But he said, "Don't hinder my return. The Lord has made my mission successful, and I want to report back to my master."


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So they called Rebekah. "Are you willing to go with this man?" they asked her. And she replied, "Yes, I will go."


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So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham's servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah's childhood nurse went along with her.


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They blessed her with this blessing as she parted: "Our sister, may you become the mother of many millions! May your descendants overcome all their enemies."


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One evening as he was taking a walk out in the fields, meditating, he looked up and saw the camels coming.


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"Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?" she asked the servant. And he replied, "It is my master." So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.


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And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother's tent, and she became his wife. He loved her very much, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.


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Jokshan's two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.


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Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.


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But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the east, away from Isaac.


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His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.


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After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahairoi in the Negev.


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This is the history of the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant.


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Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael's descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam,


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These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names, listed according to the places they settled and camped.


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Ishmael's descendants were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.


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When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban.


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Isaac pleaded with the Lord to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the Lord answered Isaac's prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins.


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But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked.


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And the Lord told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son."


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The first was very red at birth. He was covered with so much hair that one would think he was wearing a piece of clothing. So they called him Esau.


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Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they called him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.


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As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open fields, while Jacob was the kind of person who liked to stay at home.


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Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom—"Red.")


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So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother.


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Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.


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Now a severe famine struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.


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Do as I say, and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you. I will give all this land to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.


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I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.


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I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws."


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And when the men there asked him about Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to admit that she was his wife. He thought they would kill him to get her, because she was very beautiful.


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But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah.


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Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?" "Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied.


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"How could you treat us this way!" Abimelech exclaimed. "Someone might have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin."


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That year Isaac's crops were tremendous! He harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him.


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He acquired large flocks of sheep and goats, great herds of cattle, and many servants. Soon the Philistines became jealous of him,


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and they filled up all of Isaac's wells with earth. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.


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And Abimelech asked Isaac to leave the country. "Go somewhere else," he said, "for you have become too rich and powerful for us."


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He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them.


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But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "Argument," because they had argued about it with him.


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Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "Opposition."


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Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "Room Enough," for he said, "At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive."


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where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."


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Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well.


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One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.


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"Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way."


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They replied, "We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us.


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Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!"


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So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony.


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Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace.


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That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said.


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So Isaac named the well "Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba—"well of the oath."


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At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.


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When Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?" "Yes, Father?" Esau replied.


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Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me.


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Prepare it just the way I like it so it's savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die."


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to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the Lord's presence before he dies.


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Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them.


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"But Mother!" Jacob replied. "He won't be fooled that easily. Think how hairy Esau is and how smooth my skin is!


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What if my father touches me? He'll see that I'm trying to trick him, and then he'll curse me instead of blessing me."


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"Let the curse fall on me, dear son," said Rebekah. "Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats."


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So Jacob followed his mother's instructions, bringing her the two goats. She took them and cooked a delicious meat dish, just the way Isaac liked it.


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She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck.


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Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?" "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it—Esau or Jacob?"


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Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."


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Isaac asked, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?" "Because the Lord your God put it in my path!" Jacob replied.


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So Jacob went over to his father, and Isaac touched him. "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's," Isaac said to himself.


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But he did not recognize Jacob because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac pronounced his blessing on Jacob.


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Then Isaac said, "Now, my son, bring me the meat. I will eat it, and then I will give you my blessing." So Jacob took the food over to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said,


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So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "The smell of my son is the good smell of the open fields that the Lord has blessed.


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May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother's sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed."


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As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunting trip.


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Esau prepared his father's favorite meat dish and brought it to him. Then he said, "I'm back, Father, and I have the wild game. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."


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But Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "Why, it's me, of course!" he replied. "It's Esau, your older son."


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Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, "Then who was it that just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing before you came."


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Esau said bitterly, "No wonder his name is Jacob, for he has deceived me twice, first taking my birthright and now stealing my blessing. Oh, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?"


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Isaac said to Esau, "I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is there left to give?"


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Esau pleaded, "Not one blessing left for me? O my father, bless me, too!" Then Esau broke down and wept.


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and you will live by your sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will shake loose from him and be free."


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Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob."


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But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you.


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Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick and tired of these local Hittite women. I'd rather die than see Jacob marry one of them."


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Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban's daughters.


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May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants become a great assembly of nations!


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May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where we now are foreigners, for God gave it to Abraham."


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So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother's brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.


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Esau heard that his father had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman.


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So he visited his uncle Ishmael's family and married one of Ishmael's daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife's name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son.


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At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep.


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As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it.


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At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, "I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants.


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Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.


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What's more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised."


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He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God—the gateway to heaven!"


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The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.


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Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing,


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This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me."


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He saw in the distance three flocks of sheep lying in an open field beside a well, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.


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It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone. After watering them, the stone would be rolled back over the mouth of the well.


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"How is he?" Jacob asked. "He's well and prosperous. Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."


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"Why don't you water the flocks so they can get back to grazing?" Jacob asked. "They'll be hungry if you stop so early in the day."


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"We don't roll away the stone and begin the watering until all the flocks and shepherds are here," they replied.


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And because she was his cousin, the daughter of his mother's brother, and because the sheep were his uncle's, Jacob went over to the well and rolled away the stone and watered his uncle's flock.


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He explained that he was her cousin on her father's side, her aunt Rebekah's son. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.


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As soon as Laban heard about Jacob's arrival, he rushed out to meet him and greeted him warmly. Laban then brought him home, and Jacob told him his story.


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"Just think, my very own flesh and blood!" Laban exclaimed. After Jacob had been there about a month,


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Laban said to him, "You shouldn't work for me without pay just because we are relatives. How much do you want?"


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Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, "I'll work for you seven years if you'll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife."


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So Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.


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Finally, the time came for him to marry her. "I have fulfilled my contract," Jacob said to Laban. "Now give me my wife so we can be married."


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But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! "What sort of trick is this?" Jacob raged at Laban. "I worked seven years for Rachel. What do you mean by this trickery?"


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"Wait until the bridal week is over, and you can have Rachel, too—that is, if you promise to work another seven years for me."


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So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too.


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So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her more than Leah. He then stayed and worked the additional seven years.


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So Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me."


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She soon became pregnant again and had another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, "The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son."


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Again she became pregnant and had a son. She named him Levi, for she said, "Surely now my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!"


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Once again she became pregnant and had a son. She named him Judah, for she said, "Now I will praise the Lord!" And then she stopped having children.


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When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children, she became jealous of her sister. "Give me children, or I'll die!" she exclaimed to Jacob.


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Rachel named him Dan, for she said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son."


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Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have had an intense struggle with my sister, and I am winning!"


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Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn't getting pregnant anymore, so she gave her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to be his wife.


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and Leah named him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will consider me happy indeed!"


text:
One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought the roots to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah to give some of them to her.


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But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrake roots, too?" Rachel said, "I will let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for the mandrake roots."


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So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrake roots my son has found." So Jacob slept with her.


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She named him Issachar, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife."


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She named him Zebulun, for she said, "God has given me good gifts for my husband. Now he will honor me, for I have given him six sons."


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Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them from you, and let me be on my way. You know I have fully paid for them with my service to you."


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"Please don't leave me," Laban replied, "for I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because you are here.


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Jacob replied, "You know how faithfully I've served you through these many years, and how your flocks and herds have grown.


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You had little indeed before I came, and your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you from everything I do! But now, what about me? When should I provide for my own family?"


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"What wages do you want?" Laban asked again. Jacob replied, "Don't give me anything at all. Just do one thing, and I'll go back to work for you.


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Let me go out among your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the dark-colored sheep. Give them to me as my wages.


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This will make it easy for you to see whether or not I have been honest. If you find in my flock any white sheep or goats that are not speckled, you will know that I have stolen them from you."


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But that very day Laban went out and removed all the male goats that were speckled and spotted, the females that were speckled and spotted with any white patches, and all the dark-colored sheep. He placed them in the care of his sons,


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and they took them three days' distance from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for Laban's flock.


text:
Now Jacob took fresh shoots from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of the bark to make white streaks on them.


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Then he set up these peeled branches beside the watering troughs so Laban's flocks would see them as they came to drink, for that was when they mated.


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So when the flocks mated in front of the white-streaked branches, all of their offspring were streaked, speckled, and spotted.


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Jacob added them to his own flock, thus separating the lambs from Laban's flock. Then at mating time, he turned the flocks toward the streaked and dark-colored rams in Laban's flock. This is how he built his flock from Laban's.


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Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob set up the peeled branches in front of them.


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But he didn't do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob's.


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As a result, Jacob's flocks increased rapidly, and he became very wealthy, with many servants, camels, and donkeys.


text:
But Jacob soon learned that Laban's sons were beginning to grumble. "Jacob has robbed our father!" they said. "All his wealth has been gained at our father's expense."


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Then the Lord said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you."


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so he could talk things over with them. "Your father has turned against me and is not treating me like he used to," he told them. "But the God of my father has been with me.


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but he has tricked me, breaking his wage agreement with me again and again. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.


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For if he said the speckled animals were mine, the whole flock began to produce speckled lambs. And when he changed his mind and said I could have the streaked ones, then all the lambs were born streaked.


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During the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.


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The angel said, 'Look, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you.


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I am the God you met at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to serve me. Now leave this country and return to the land you came from.' "


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Rachel and Leah said, "That's fine with us! There's nothing for us here—none of our father's wealth will come to us anyway.


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He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. He sold us, and what he received for us has disappeared.


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The riches God has given you from our father are legally ours and our children's to begin with. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you."


text:
He drove the flocks in front of him—all the livestock he had acquired at Paddan-aram—and set out on his journey to the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived.


text:
At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father's household gods and took them with her.


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Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the territory of Gilead.


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But when he did, he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with them seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.


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But the previous night God had appeared to Laban in a dream. "Be careful about what you say to Jacob!" he was told.


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So when Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, he set up his camp not far from Jacob's.


text:
"What do you mean by sneaking off like this?" Laban demanded. "Are my daughters prisoners, the plunder of war, that you have stolen them away like this?


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Why did you slip away secretly? I would have given you a farewell party, with joyful singing accompanied by tambourines and harps.


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Why didn't you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly!


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I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and told me, 'Be careful about what you say to Jacob!'


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I know you feel you must go, and you long intensely for your childhood home, but why have you stolen my household gods?"


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"I rushed away because I was afraid," Jacob answered. "I said to myself, 'He'll take his daughters from me by force.'


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But as for your household gods, let the person who has taken them die! If you find anything that belongs to you, I swear before all these relatives of ours, I will give it back without question." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had taken them.


text:
Laban went first into Jacob's tent to search there, then into Leah's, and then he searched the tents of the two concubines, but he didn't find the gods. Finally, he went into Rachel's tent.


text:
Rachel had taken the household gods and had stuffed them into her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. So although Laban searched all the tents, he couldn't find them.


text:
"Forgive my not getting up, Father," Rachel explained. "I'm having my monthly period." So despite his thorough search, Laban didn't find them.


text:
Then Jacob became very angry. "What did you find?" he demanded of Laban. "What is my crime? You have chased me as though I were a criminal.


text:
You have searched through everything I own. Now show me what you have found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them decide who is the real owner!


text:
"Twenty years I have been with you, and all that time I cared for your sheep and goats so they produced healthy offspring. In all those years I never touched a single ram of yours for food.


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If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, did I show them to you and ask you to reduce the count of your flock? No, I took the loss! You made me pay for every animal stolen from the flocks, whether the loss was my fault or not.


text:
Yes, twenty years—fourteen of them earning your two daughters, and six years to get the flock. And you have reduced my wages ten times!


text:
In fact, except for the grace of God—the God of my grandfather Abraham, the awe-inspiring God of my father, Isaac—you would have sent me off without a penny to my name. But God has seen your cruelty and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and vindicated me."


text:
Then Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, and these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks and all that you have—all are mine. But what can I do now to my own daughters and grandchildren?


text:
He also told his men to gather stones and pile them up in a heap. Jacob and Laban then sat down beside the pile of stones to share a meal.


text:
This place was also called Mizpah, for Laban said, "May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this treaty when we are out of each other's sight.


text:
I won't know about it if you are harsh to my daughters or if you take other wives, but God will see it.


text:
stand between us as a witness of our vows. I will not cross this line to harm you, and you will not cross it to harm me.


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I call on the God of our ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to punish either one of us who harms the other." So Jacob took an oath before the awesome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line.


text:
Then Jacob presented a sacrifice to God and invited everyone to a feast. Afterward they spent the night there in the hills.


text:
Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his daughters and grandchildren and blessed them. Then he returned home.


text:
He told them, "Give this message to my master Esau: 'Humble greetings from your servant Jacob! I have been living with Uncle Laban until recently,


text:
and now I own oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform you of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to us.' "


text:
The messengers returned with the news that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob—with an army of four hundred men!


text:
Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps.


text:
Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me to return to my land and to my relatives, and you promised to treat me kindly.


text:
I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home, I owned nothing except a walking stick, and now my household fills two camps!


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O Lord, please rescue me from my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to kill me, along with my wives and children.


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But you promised to treat me kindly and to multiply my descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count."


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thirty female camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys.


text:
He told his servants to lead them on ahead, each group of animals by itself, separated by a distance in between.


text:
He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: "When you meet Esau, he will ask, 'Where are you going? Whose servants are you? Whose animals are these?'


text:
You should reply, 'These belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present for his master Esau! He is coming right behind us.' "


text:
Jacob gave the same instructions to each of the herdsmen and told them, "You are all to say the same thing to Esau when you see him.


text:
And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is right behind us.' " Jacob's plan was to appease Esau with the presents before meeting him face to face. "Perhaps," Jacob hoped, "he will be friendly to us."


text:
But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River.


text:
When the man saw that he couldn't win the match, he struck Jacob's hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket.


text:
Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is dawn." But Jacob panted, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."


text:
"Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won."


text:
"What is your name?" Jacob asked him. "Why do you ask?" the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.


text:
Jacob named the place Peniel—"face of God"—for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared."


text:
That is why even today the people of Israel don't eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night.


text:
Jacob now arranged his family into a column, with his two concubines and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.


text:
Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him affectionately and kissed him. Both of them were in tears.


text:
Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, "Who are these people with you?" "These are the children God has graciously given to me," Jacob replied.


text:
Next Leah came with her children, and they bowed down. Finally, Rachel and Joseph came and made their bows.


text:
"And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?" Esau asked. Jacob replied, "They are gifts, my lord, to ensure your goodwill."


text:
"No, please accept them," Jacob said, "for what a relief it is to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the smile of God!


text:
Please take my gifts, for God has been very generous to me. I have more than enough." Jacob continued to insist, so Esau finally accepted them.


text:
But Jacob replied, "You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, they may die.


text:
"Well," Esau said, "at least let me leave some of my men to guide and protect you." "There is no reason for you to be so kind to me," Jacob insisted.


text:
Meanwhile, Jacob and his household traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his flocks and herds. That is why the place was named Succoth.


text:
Jacob bought the land he camped on from the family of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver.


text:
Word soon reached Jacob that his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle so he did nothing until they returned.


text:
He arrived just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob's family, a thing that should never have been done.


text:
Hamor told Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and he longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her.


text:
We invite you to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men.


text:
And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. You are free to acquire property among us."


text:
Then Shechem addressed Dinah's father and brothers. "Please be kind to me, and let me have her as my wife," he begged. "I will give whatever you require.


text:
They said to them, "We couldn't possibly allow this, because you aren't circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry a man like you!


text:
and Shechem lost no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Dinah desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family,


text:
"Those men are our friends," they said. "Let's invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them.


text:
But they will consider staying here only on one condition. Every one of us men must be circumcised, just as they are.


text:
But if we do this, all their flocks and possessions will become ours. Come, let's agree to this so they will settle here among us."


text:
But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the town without opposition, and slaughtered every man there,


text:
They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys—everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields.


text:
Afterward Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, "You have made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us. We will all be killed!"


text:
God said to Jacob, "Now move on to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to worship me—the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau."


text:
So Jacob told everyone in his household, "Destroy your idols, wash yourselves, and put on clean clothing.


text:
We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has stayed with me wherever I have gone."


text:
So they gave Jacob all their idols and their earrings, and he buried them beneath the tree near Shechem.


text:
When they set out again, terror from God came over the people in all the towns of that area, and no one attacked them.


text:
Jacob built an altar there and named it El-bethel, because God had appeared to him there at Bethel when he was fleeing from Esau.


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Soon after this, Rebekah's old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called the "Oak of Weeping."


text:
God appeared to Jacob once again when he arrived at Bethel after traveling from Paddan-aram. God blessed him


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Then God said, "I am God Almighty. Multiply and fill the earth! Become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!


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And I will pass on to you the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants."


text:
Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. He then poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.


text:
Leaving Bethel, they traveled on toward Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). But Rachel's pains of childbirth began while they were still some distance away.


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Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named him Ben-oni; the baby's father, however, called him Benjamin.


text:
While he was there, Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and someone told Jacob about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:


text:
The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.


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So Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham had also lived.


text:
and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. Then his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.


text:
Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.


text:
Esau and Oholibamah had sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan.


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Then Esau took his wives, children, household servants, cattle, and flocks—all the wealth he had gained in the land of Canaan—and moved away from his brother, Jacob.


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Among Esau's sons were Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath.


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Eliphaz had another son named Amalek, born to Timna, his concubine. These were all grandchildren of Esau's wife Adah.


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The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were all grandchildren of Esau's wife Basemath.


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Esau also had sons through Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.


text:
Esau's children and grandchildren became the leaders of different clans. The sons of Esau's oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,


text:
Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These clans in the land of Edom were descended from Eliphaz, the son of Esau and Adah.


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The sons of Esau's son Reuel became the leaders of the clans of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These clans in the land of Edom were descended from Reuel, the son of Esau and Basemath.


text:
The sons of Esau and his wife Oholibamah became the leaders of the clans of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the clans descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.


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These are the names of the tribes that descended from Seir the Horite, one of the families native to the land of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,


text:
Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite clans, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom.


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The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while he was grazing his father's donkeys.


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Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite clans are named after their clan leaders, who lived in the land of Seir.


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When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who destroyed the Midianite army in the land of Moab.


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When Baal-hanan died, Hadad became king and ruled from the city of Pau. Hadad's wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.


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These are the leaders of the clans of Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,


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Magdiel, and Iram. These are the names of the clans of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, each clan giving its name to the area it occupied.


text:
This is the history of Jacob's family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks with his half brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.


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Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift—a beautiful robe.


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But his brothers hated Joseph because of their father's partiality. They couldn't say a kind word to him.


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One night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate him even more.


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"We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before it!"


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"So you are going to be our king, are you?" his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said.


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Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers about it. "Listen to this dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!"


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This time he told his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What do you mean?" his father asked. "Will your mother, your brothers, and I actually come and bow before you?"


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But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father gave it some thought and wondered what it all meant.


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When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, "Your brothers are over at Shechem with the flocks. I'm going to send you to them." "I'm ready to go," Joseph replied.


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"Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along," Jacob said. "Then come back and bring me word." So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from his home in the valley of Hebron.


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When he arrived there, a man noticed him wandering around the countryside. "What are you looking for?" he asked.


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"Yes," the man told him, "but they are no longer here. I heard your brothers say they were going to Dothan." So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.


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When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance and made plans to kill him.


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"Come on, let's kill him and throw him into a deep pit. We can tell our father that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what becomes of all his dreams!"


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"Why should we shed his blood? Let's just throw him alive into this pit here. That way he will die without our having to touch him." Reuben was secretly planning to help Joseph escape, and then he would bring him back to his father.


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and threw him into the pit. This pit was normally used to store water, but it was empty at the time.


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Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they noticed a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking spices, balm, and myrrh from Gilead to Egypt.


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Judah said to the others, "What can we gain by killing our brother? That would just give us a guilty conscience.


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Let's sell Joseph to those Ishmaelite traders. Let's not be responsible for his death; after all, he is our brother!" And his brothers agreed.


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So when the traders came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver, and the Ishmaelite traders took him along to Egypt.


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Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the pit. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in anguish and frustration.


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They took the beautiful robe to their father and asked him to identify it. "We found this in the field," they told him. "It's Joseph's robe, isn't it?"


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Their father recognized it at once. "Yes," he said, "it is my son's robe. A wild animal has attacked and eaten him. Surely Joseph has been torn in pieces!"


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His family all tried to comfort him, but it was no use. "I will die in mourning for my son," he would say, and then begin to weep.


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Meanwhile, in Egypt, the traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.


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And when she had a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah's birth, they were living at Kezib.


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Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "You must marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. Her first son from you will be your brother's heir."


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But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with Tamar, he spilled the semen on the ground to keep her from having a baby who would belong to his brother.


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But the Lord considered it a wicked thing for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the Lord took Onan's life, too.


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Then Judah told Tamar, his daughter-in-law, not to marry again at that time but to return to her parents' home. She was to remain a widow until his youngest son, Shelah, was old enough to marry her. (But Judah didn't really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went home to her parents.


text:
In the course of time Judah's wife died. After the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep.


text:
Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but they had not called her to come and marry him. So she changed out of her widow's clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah.


text:
So he stopped and propositioned her to sleep with him, not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law. "How much will you pay me?" Tamar asked.


text:
"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," Judah promised. "What pledge will you give me so I can be sure you will send it?" she asked.


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"Well, what do you want?" he inquired. She replied, "I want your identification seal, your cord, and the walking stick you are carrying." So Judah gave these items to her. She then let him sleep with her, and she became pregnant.


text:
Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat back to her and to pick up the pledges he had given her, but Hirah couldn't find her.


text:
So he asked the men who lived there, "Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to the village?" "We've never had a prostitute here," they replied.


text:
So Hirah returned to Judah and told him that he couldn't find her anywhere and that the men of the village had claimed they didn't have a prostitute there.


text:
"Then let her keep the pledges!" Judah exclaimed. "We tried our best to send her the goat. We'd be the laughingstock of the village if we went back again."


text:
About three months later, word reached Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant as a result of prostitution. "Bring her out and burn her!" Judah shouted.


text:
But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: "The man who owns this identification seal and walking stick is the father of my child. Do you recognize them?"


text:
Judah admitted that they were his and said, "She is more in the right than I am, because I didn't keep my promise to let her marry my son Shelah." But Judah never slept with Tamar again.


text:
As they were being born, one of them reached out his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around the wrist of the child who appeared first, saying, "This one came out first."


text:
But then he drew back his hand, and the other baby was actually the first to be born. "What!" the midwife exclaimed. "How did you break out first?" And ever after, he was called Perez.


text:
Now when Joseph arrived in Egypt with the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, a member of the personal staff of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was the captain of the palace guard.


text:
Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.


text:
So Joseph naturally became quite a favorite with him. Potiphar soon put Joseph in charge of his entire household and entrusted him with all his business dealings.


text:
From the day Joseph was put in charge, the Lord began to bless Potiphar for Joseph's sake. All his household affairs began to run smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.


text:
So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn't have a worry in the world, except to decide what he wanted to eat! Now Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man.


text:
But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.


text:
No one here has more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."


text:
She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.


text:
She came and grabbed him by his shirt, demanding, "Sleep with me!" Joseph tore himself away, but as he did, his shirt came off. She was left holding it as he ran from the house.


text:
she began screaming. Soon all the men around the place came running. "My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to insult us!" she sobbed. "He tried to rape me, but I screamed.


text:
she told him her story. "That Hebrew slave you've had around here tried to make a fool of me," she said.


text:
Before long, the jailer put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.


text:
The chief jailer had no more worries after that, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him, making everything run smoothly and successfully.


text:
and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of Potiphar, the captain of the guard.


text:
And they replied, "We both had dreams last night, but there is no one here to tell us what they mean." "Interpreting dreams is God's business," Joseph replied. "Tell me what you saw."


text:
I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into it. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."


text:
Within three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison and return you to your position as his chief cup-bearer.


text:
And please have some pity on me when you are back in his favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and ask him to let me out of here.


text:
For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in jail, but I did nothing to deserve it."


text:
When the chief baker saw that the first dream had such a good meaning, he told his dream to Joseph, too. "In my dream," he said, "there were three baskets of pastries on my head.


text:
Three days from now Pharaoh will cut off your head and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh."


text:
Pharaoh's birthday came three days later, and he gave a banquet for all his officials and household staff. He sent for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker, and they were brought to him from the prison.


text:
In his dream, seven fat, healthy-looking cows suddenly came up out of the river and began grazing along its bank.


text:
Then seven other cows came up from the river, but these were very ugly and gaunt. These cows went over and stood beside the fat cows.


text:
Soon he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain on one stalk, with every kernel well formed and plump.


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Then suddenly, seven more heads appeared on the stalk, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.


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And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.


text:
The next morning, as he thought about it, Pharaoh became very concerned as to what the dreams might mean. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them about his dreams, but not one of them could suggest what they meant.


text:
"Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard.


text:
We told the dreams to a young Hebrew man who was a servant of the captain of the guard. He told us what each of our dreams meant,


text:
and everything happened just as he said it would. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole."


text:
Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was brought hastily from the dungeon. After a quick shave and change of clothes, he went in and stood in Pharaoh's presence.


text:
"I had a dream last night," Pharaoh told him, "and none of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams, and that is why I have called for you."


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"It is beyond my power to do this," Joseph replied. "But God will tell you what it means and will set you at ease."


text:
"Suddenly, seven fat, healthy-looking cows came up out of the river and began grazing along its bank.


text:
But then seven other cows came up from the river. They were very thin and gaunt—in fact, I've never seen such ugly animals in all the land of Egypt.


text:
"A little later I had another dream. This time there were seven heads of grain on one stalk, and all seven heads were plump and full.


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And the withered heads swallowed up the plump ones! I told these dreams to my magicians, but not one of them could tell me what they mean."


text:
"Both dreams mean the same thing," Joseph told Pharaoh. "God was telling you what he is about to do.


text:
But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and wiped out. Famine will destroy the land.


text:
As for having the dream twice, it means that the matter has been decreed by God and that he will make these events happen soon.


text:
"My suggestion is that you find the wisest man in Egypt and put him in charge of a nationwide program.


text:
Let Pharaoh appoint officials over the land, and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years.


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Have them gather all the food and grain of these good years into the royal storehouses, and store it away so there will be food in the cities.


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That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. Otherwise disaster will surely strike the land, and all the people will die."


text:
As they discussed who should be appointed for the job, Pharaoh said, "Who could do it better than Joseph? For he is a man who is obviously filled with the spirit of God."


text:
Turning to Joseph, Pharaoh said, "Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in the land!


text:
I hereby appoint you to direct this project. You will manage my household and organize all my people. Only I will have a rank higher than yours."


text:
Then Pharaoh placed his own signet ring on Joseph's finger as a symbol of his authority. He dressed him in beautiful clothing and placed the royal gold chain about his neck.


text:
Pharaoh also gave Joseph the chariot of his second-in-command, and wherever he went the command was shouted, "Kneel down!" So Joseph was put in charge of all Egypt.


text:
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am the king, but no one will move a hand or a foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval."


text:
Pharaoh renamed him Zaphenath-paneah and gave him a wife—a young woman named Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.


text:
He was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he made a tour of inspection throughout the land.


text:
During those years, Joseph took a portion of all the crops grown in Egypt and stored them for the government in nearby cities.


text:
After seven years, the granaries were filled to overflowing. There was so much grain, like sand on the seashore, that the people could not keep track of the amount.


text:
During this time, before the arrival of the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis.


text:
Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, "God has made me forget all my troubles and the family of my father."


text:
Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, "God has made me fruitful in this land of my suffering."


text:
Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There were crop failures in all the surrounding countries, too, but in Egypt there was plenty of grain in the storehouses.


text:
Throughout the land of Egypt the people began to starve. They pleaded with Pharaoh for food, and he told them, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you."


text:
So with severe famine everywhere in the land, Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians.


text:
And people from surrounding lands also came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.


text:
When Jacob heard that there was grain available in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you standing around looking at one another?


text:
Jacob wouldn't let Joseph's younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, however, for fear some harm might come to him.


text:
So Jacob's sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine had reached Canaan as well.


text:
Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of the sale of the grain, it was to him that his brothers came. They bowed low before him, with their faces to the ground.


text:
Joseph recognized them instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger. "Where are you from?" he demanded roughly. "From the land of Canaan," they replied. "We have come to buy grain."


text:
And he remembered the dreams he had had many years before. He said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become."


text:
"Sir," they said, "there are twelve of us brothers, and our father is in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is there with our father, and one of our brothers is no longer with us."


text:
This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will not leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here.


text:
One of you go and get your brother! I'll keep the rest of you here, bound in prison. Then we'll find out whether or not your story is true. If it turns out that you don't have a younger brother, then I'll know you are spies."


text:
We'll see how honorable you really are. Only one of you will remain in the prison. The rest of you may go on home with grain for your families.


text:
But bring your youngest brother back to me. In this way, I will know whether or not you are telling me the truth. If you are, I will spare you." To this they agreed.


text:
Speaking among themselves, they said, "This has all happened because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his terror and anguish and heard his pleadings, but we wouldn't listen. That's why this trouble has come upon us."


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"Didn't I tell you not to do it?" Reuben asked. "But you wouldn't listen. And now we are going to die because we murdered him."


text:
Of course, they didn't know that Joseph understood them as he was standing there, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter.


text:
Now he left the room and found a place where he could weep. Returning, he talked some more with them. He then chose Simeon from among them and had him tied up right before their eyes.


text:
Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men's sacks with grain, but he also gave secret instructions to return each brother's payment at the top of his sack. He also gave them provisions for their journey.


text:
But when they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get some grain to feed the donkeys, he found his money in the sack.


text:
"Look!" he exclaimed to his brothers. "My money is here in my sack!" They were filled with terror and said to each other, "What has God done to us?"


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"The man who is ruler over the land spoke very roughly to us," they told him. "He took us for spies.


text:
We are twelve brothers, sons of one father; one brother has disappeared, and the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.'


text:
Then the man, the ruler of the land, told us, 'This is the way I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your families and go on home.


text:
But bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know that you are honest men and not spies. If you prove to be what you say, then I will give you back your brother, and you may come as often as you like to buy grain.' "


text:
As they emptied out the sacks, there at the top of each one was the bag of money paid for the grain. Terror gripped them, as it did their father.


text:
Jacob exclaimed, "You have deprived me of my children! Joseph has disappeared, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!"


text:
Then Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my two sons if I don't bring Benjamin back to you. I'll be responsible for him."


text:
But Jacob replied, "My son will not go down with you, for his brother Joseph is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children. If anything should happen to him, you would bring my gray head down to the grave in deep sorrow."


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When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, "Go again and buy us a little food."


text:
But Judah said, "The man wasn't joking when he warned that we couldn't see him again unless Benjamin came along.


text:
But if you don't let Benjamin go, we may as well stay at home. Remember that the man said, 'You won't be allowed to come and see me unless your brother is with you.' "


text:
"Why did you ever tell him you had another brother?" Jacob moaned. "Why did you have to treat me with such cruelty?"


text:
"But the man specifically asked us about our family," they replied. "He wanted to know whether our father was still living, and he asked us if we had another brother so we told him. How could we have known he would say, 'Bring me your brother'?"


text:
Judah said to his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones.


text:
I personally guarantee his safety. If I don't bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame forever.


text:
So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, "If it can't be avoided, then at least do this. Fill your bags with the best products of the land. Take them to the man as gifts—balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.


text:
May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man, that he might release Simeon and return Benjamin. And if I must bear the anguish of their deaths, then so be it."


text:
So they took Benjamin and the gifts and double the money and hurried to Egypt, where they presented themselves to Joseph.


text:
When Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he said to the manager of his household, "These men will eat with me this noon. Take them inside and prepare a big feast."


text:
They were badly frightened when they saw where they were being taken. "It's because of the money returned to us in our sacks," they said. "He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."


text:
As the brothers arrived at the entrance to the palace, they went over to the man in charge of Joseph's household.


text:
as we were returning home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. The money we had used to pay for the grain was there in our sacks. Here it is; we have brought it back again.


text:
"Relax. Don't worry about it," the household manager told them. "Your God, the God of your ancestors, must have put it there. We collected your money all right." Then he released Simeon and brought him out to them.


text:
The brothers were then led into the palace and given water to wash their feet and food for their donkeys.


text:
They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon.


text:
He asked them how they had been getting along, and then he said, "How is your father—the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"


text:
Looking at his brother Benjamin, Joseph asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? May God be gracious to you, my son."


text:
Then Joseph made a hasty exit because he was overcome with emotion for his brother and wanted to cry. Going into his private room, he wept there.


text:
Then he washed his face and came out, keeping himself under control. "Bring on the food!" he ordered.


text:
Joseph ate by himself, and his brothers were served at a separate table. The Egyptians sat at their own table because Egyptians despise Hebrews and refuse to eat with them.


text:
Joseph told each of his brothers where to sit, and to their amazement, he seated them in the order of their ages, from oldest to youngest.


text:
Their food was served to them from Joseph's own table. He gave the largest serving to Benjamin—five times as much as to any of the others. So they all feasted and drank freely with him.


text:
When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to the man in charge of his household: "Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man's money back into his sack.


text:
Then put my personal silver cup at the top of the youngest brother's sack, along with his grain money." So the household manager did as he was told.


text:
But when they were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his household manager, "Chase after them and stop them. Ask them, 'Why have you repaid an act of kindness with such evil?


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What do you mean by stealing my master's personal silver drinking cup, which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!' "


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"What are you talking about?" the brothers responded. "What kind of people do you think we are, that you accuse us of such a terrible thing?


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Didn't we bring back the money we found in our sacks? Why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house?


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If you find his cup with any one of us, let that one die. And all the rest of us will be your master's slaves forever."


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"Fair enough," the man replied, "except that only the one who stole it will be a slave. The rest of you may go free."


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Joseph's servant began searching the oldest brother's sack, going on down the line to the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack!


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Joseph was still at home when Judah and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the ground before him.


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"What were you trying to do?" Joseph demanded. "Didn't you know that a man such as I would know who stole it?"


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And Judah said, "Oh, my lord, what can we say to you? How can we plead? How can we prove our innocence? God is punishing us for our sins. My lord, we have all returned to be your slaves—we and our brother who had your cup in his sack."


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"No," Joseph said. "Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go home to your father."


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Then Judah stepped forward and said, "My lord, let me say just this one word to you. Be patient with me for a moment, for I know you could have me killed in an instant, as though you were Pharaoh himself.


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We said, 'Yes, we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, his youngest son. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him very much.'


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we replied, 'We can't unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We won't be allowed to see the man in charge of the grain unless our youngest brother is with us.'


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and that one of them went away and never returned—doubtless torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since.


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If you take away his brother from me, too, and any harm comes to him, you would bring my gray head down to the grave in deep sorrow.'


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"And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father's life is bound up in the boy's life.


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When he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We will be responsible for bringing his gray head down to the grave in sorrow.


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My lord, I made a pledge to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, 'If I don't bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.'


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Please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.


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For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see what this would do to him."


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Joseph could stand it no longer. "Out, all of you!" he cried out to his attendants. He wanted to be alone with his brothers when he told them who he was.


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Then he broke down and wept aloud. His sobs could be heard throughout the palace, and the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace.


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"I am Joseph!" he said to his brothers. "Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.


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"Come over here," he said. So they came closer. And he said again, "I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt.


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But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.


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These two years of famine will grow to seven, during which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.


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Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you! And he has made me a counselor to Pharaoh—manager of his entire household and ruler over all Egypt.


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"Hurry, return to my father and tell him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. Come down to me right away!


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You will live in the land of Goshen so you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have.


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I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you and your household will come to utter poverty.' "


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Then Joseph said, "You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph!


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Tell my father how I am honored here in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen, and bring him to me quickly."


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Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and then they began talking freely with him.


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The news soon reached Pharaoh: "Joseph's brothers have come!" Pharaoh was very happy to hear this and so were his officials.


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Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers to load their pack animals and return quickly to their homes in Canaan.


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Tell them to bring your father and all of their families, and to come here to Egypt to live. Tell them, 'Pharaoh will assign to you the very best territory in the land of Egypt. You will live off the fat of the land!'


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And tell your brothers to take wagons from Egypt to carry their wives and little ones and to bring your father here.


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So the sons of Jacob did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he supplied them with provisions for the journey.


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And he gave each of them new clothes—but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and three hundred pieces of silver!


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He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten donkeys loaded with grain and all kinds of other food to be eaten on his journey.


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"Joseph is still alive!" they told him. "And he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!" Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn't believe it.


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But when they had given him Joseph's messages, and when he saw the wagons loaded with the food sent by Joseph, his spirit revived.


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So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.


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During the night God spoke to him in a vision. "Jacob! Jacob!" he called. "Here I am," Jacob replied.


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"I am God," the voice said, "the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will see to it that you become a great nation there.


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I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring your descendants back again. But you will die in Egypt with Joseph at your side."


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So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons brought him to Egypt. They carried their little ones and wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them.


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They brought their livestock, too, and all the belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Jacob and his entire family arrived in Egypt—


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These are the names of the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob, who went with him to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob's oldest son.


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The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul's mother was a Canaanite woman.)


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The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (But Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan.) The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.


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These are the sons of Jacob who were born to Leah in Paddan-aram, along with their sister, Dinah. In all, Jacob's descendants through Leah numbered thirty-three.


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The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was named Serah. Beriah's sons were Heber and Malkiel.


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These sixteen were descendants of Jacob through Zilpah, the servant given to Leah by her father, Laban.


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Joseph's sons, born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim. Their mother was Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis.


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These seven were the descendants of Jacob through Bilhah, the servant given to Rachel by her father, Laban.


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So the total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons' wives, was sixty-six.


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Joseph also had two sons who had been born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob's family in the land of Egypt.


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Jacob sent Judah on ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the land of Goshen. And when they all arrived there,


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Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father. As soon as Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept on his shoulder for a long time.


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Then Jacob said to Joseph, "Now let me die, for I have seen you with my own eyes and know you are still alive."


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And Joseph said to his brothers and to all their households, "I'll go and tell Pharaoh that you have all come from the land of Canaan to join me.


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And I will tell him, 'These men are shepherds and livestock breeders. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.'


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tell him, 'We have been livestock breeders from our youth, as our ancestors have been for many generations.' When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the land of Goshen, for shepherds are despised in the land of Egypt."


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So Joseph went to see Pharaoh and said, "My father and my brothers are here from Canaan. They came with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the land of Goshen."


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Pharaoh asked them, "What is your occupation?" And they replied, "We are shepherds like our ancestors.


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We have come to live here in Egypt, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. We request permission to live in the land of Goshen."


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choose any place you like for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt—the land of Goshen will be fine. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too."


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Jacob replied, "I have lived for 130 hard years, but I am still not nearly as old as many of my ancestors."


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So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the land of Rameses—to his father and brothers, just as Pharaoh had commanded.


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And Joseph furnished food to his father and brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents.


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Meanwhile, the famine became worse and worse, and the crops continued to fail throughout Egypt and Canaan.


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Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, and he brought the money to Pharaoh's treasure-house.


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When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, they came to Joseph crying again for food. "Our money is gone," they said, "but give us bread. Why should we die?"


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"Well, then," Joseph replied, "since your money is gone, give me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange."


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So they gave their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. Soon all the horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys of Egypt were in Pharaoh's possession. But at least they were able to purchase food for that year.


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The next year they came again and said, "Our money is gone, and our livestock are yours. We have nothing left but our bodies and land.


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Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we will then become servants to Pharaoh. Just give us grain so that our lives may be saved and so the land will not become empty and desolate."


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So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and their land then belonged to Pharaoh.


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The only land he didn't buy was that belonging to the priests, for they were assigned food from Pharaoh and didn't need to sell their land.


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Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed, so you can plant the fields.


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Then when you harvest it, a fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. Keep four-fifths for yourselves, and use it to plant the next year's crop and to feed yourselves, your households, and your little ones."


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"You have saved our lives!" they exclaimed. "May it please you, sir, to let us be Pharaoh's servants."


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Joseph then made it a law throughout the land of Egypt—and it is still the law—that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. But since Pharaoh had not taken over the priests' land, they were exempt from this payment.


text:
So the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt. And before long, they began to prosper there, and their population grew rapidly.


text:
As the time of his death drew near, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If you are pleased with me, swear most solemnly that you will honor this, my last request: Do not bury me in Egypt.


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When I am dead, take me out of Egypt and bury me beside my ancestors." So Joseph promised that he would.


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"Swear that you will do it," Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.


text:
One day not long after this, word came to Joseph that his father was failing rapidly. So Joseph went to visit him, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.


text:
He said to me, 'I will make you a multitude of nations, and I will give this land of Canaan to you and your descendants as an everlasting possession.'


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Now I am adopting as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will inherit from me just as Reuben and Simeon will.


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But the children born to you in the future will be your own. The land they inherit will be within the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.


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As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were still on the way, just a short distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath."


text:
"Yes," Joseph told him, "these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt." And Jacob said, "Bring them over to me, and I will bless them."


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Now Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them.


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Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I never thought I would see you again, but now God has let me see your children, too."


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But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys' heads. So his right hand was on the head of Ephraim, the younger boy, and his left hand was on the head of Manasseh, the older.


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Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May God, the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life,


text:
and the angel who has kept me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they preserve my name and the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac. And may they become a mighty nation."


text:
But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head. So he lifted it to place it on Manasseh's head instead.


text:
But his father refused. "I know what I'm doing, my son," he said. "Manasseh, too, will become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. His descendants will become a multitude of nations!"


text:
So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: "The people of Israel will use your names to bless each other. They will say, 'May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.' " In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.


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Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to Canaan, the land of your ancestors.


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And I give you an extra portion beyond what I have given your brothers—the portion that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow."


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Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what is going to happen to you in the days to come.


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"Reuben, you are my oldest son, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first on the list in rank and honor.


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But you are as unruly as the waves of the sea, and you will be first no longer. For you slept with one of my wives; you dishonored me in my own bed.


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O my soul, stay away from them. May I never be a party to their wicked plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.


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Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel. Therefore, I will scatter their descendants throughout the nation of Israel.


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"Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. All your relatives will bow before you.


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Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who will dare to rouse him?


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The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey.


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He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine because his harvest is so plentiful.


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"Zebulun will settle on the shores of the sea and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.


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When he sees how good the countryside is, how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the task and submit to forced labor.


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He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so the rider is thrown off.


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But his bow remained strong, and his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.


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May the God of your ancestors help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the earth beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb.


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May the blessings of your ancestors be greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains, reaching to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. These blessings will fall on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.


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"Benjamin is a wolf that prowls. He devours his enemies in the morning, and in the evening he divides the plunder."


text:
These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and these are the blessings with which Jacob blessed his twelve sons. Each received a blessing that was appropriate to him.


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Then Jacob told them, "Soon I will die. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in Ephron's field.


text:
This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a permanent burial place.


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There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.


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Then when Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he lay back in the bed, breathed his last, and died.


text:
The embalming process took forty days, and there was a period of national mourning for seventy days.


text:
When the period of mourning was over, Joseph approached Pharaoh's advisers and asked them to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf.


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He told them, "Tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath. He said to me, 'I am about to die; take my body back to the land of Canaan, and bury me in our family's burial cave.' Now I need to go and bury my father. After his burial is complete, I will return without delay."


text:
So Joseph went, with a great number of Pharaoh's counselors and advisers—all the senior officers of Egypt.


text:
Joseph also took his brothers and the entire household of Jacob. But they left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.


text:
When they arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn funeral, with a seven-day period of mourning for Joseph's father.


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The local residents, the Canaanites, renamed the place Abel-mizraim, for they said, "This is a place of very deep mourning for these Egyptians."


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They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried it there in the cave of Machpelah. This is the cave that Abraham had bought for a permanent burial place in the field of Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.


text:
Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father's funeral.


text:
But now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became afraid. "Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to him," they said.


text:
to say to you: 'Forgive your brothers for the great evil they did to you.' So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive us." When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.


text:
As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people.


text:
No, don't be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families." And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.


text:
So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph was 110 years old when he died.


text:
He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim and the children of Manasseh's son Makir, who were treated as if they were his own.


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"Soon I will die," Joseph told his brothers, "but God will surely come for you, to lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he vowed to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."


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Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, "When God comes to lead us back to Canaan, you must take my body back with you."


text:
These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who came with him to Egypt with their families:


text:
But the descendants of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.


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We have to outsmart them, or they'll increase in number. Then, if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country."


text:
So the Egyptians put slave drivers in charge of them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.


text:
But the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians couldn't stand them {any longer}.


text:
They made their lives bitter with back-breaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard.


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"When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it's a boy, kill it, but if it's a girl, let it live."


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However, the midwives feared God and didn't obey the king of Egypt's orders. They let the boys live.


text:
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. He asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?"


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The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives."


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Then Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw into the Nile every {Hebrew} boy that was born, but to let every girl live.


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When she couldn't hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus plants and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus plants near the bank of the Nile River.


text:
While Pharaoh's daughter came to the Nile to take a bath, her servants walked along the bank of the river. She saw the basket among the papyrus plants and sent her slave girl to get it.


text:
Pharaoh's daughter opened the basket, looked at the baby, and saw it was a boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, "This is one of the Hebrew children."


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Then the baby's sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Should I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"


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Pharaoh's daughter said to the woman, "Take this child, nurse him for me, and I will pay you." She took the child and nursed him.


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When the child was old enough, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. Pharaoh's daughter named him Moses Pulled Out and said, "I pulled him out of the water."


text:
In the course of time Moses grew up. Then he went to {see} his own people and watched them suffering under forced labor. He saw a Hebrew, one of his own people, being beaten by an Egyptian.


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He looked all around, and when he didn't see anyone, he beat the Egyptian to death and hid the body in the sand.


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When Moses went there the next day, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. He asked the one who started the fight, "Why are you beating another Hebrew?"


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The man asked, "Who made you our ruler and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought that everyone knew what he had done.


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When Pharaoh heard what Moses had done, he tried to have him killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian. One day, while Moses was sitting by a well,


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seven daughters of the priest of Midian came. They drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's sheep.


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But some shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses got up, came to their defense, and then watered their sheep.


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They answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from some shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the sheep."


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Reuel asked his daughters, "Where is he? Why did you leave the man there? Go, invite him to supper."


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She gave birth to a son. Moses named him Gershom Foreigner, because he said, "I was a foreigner living in another country."


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After a long time passed, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God.


text:
Moses was taking care of the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. As he led the sheep to the far side of the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.


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The Messenger of the Lord appeared to him there as flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses looked, and although the bush was on fire, it was not burning up.


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When the Lord saw that Moses had come over to see it, God called to him from the bush, "Moses, Moses!" Moses answered, "Here I am!"


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God said, "Don't come any closer! Take off your sandals because this place where you are standing is holy ground.


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I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.


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The Lord said, "I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard them crying out because of the slave drivers. I know how much they're suffering.


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I have come to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good land with plenty of room {for everyone}. It is a land flowing with milk and honey where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites live.


text:
But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt?"


text:
God answered, "I will be with you. And this will be the proof that I sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain."


text:
Then Moses replied to God, "Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' What should I tell them?"


text:
God answered Moses, "I Am Who I Am. This is what you must say to the people of Israel: 'I Am has sent me to you.' "


text:
Again God said to Moses, "This is what you must say to the people of Israel: The Lord God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation.


text:
"Go, assemble the leaders of Israel. Say to them, 'The Lord God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me. He said, "I have paid close attention to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.


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I promise I will take you away from your misery in Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey." '


text:
"The leaders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the leaders must go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.'


text:
So I will use my power to strike Egypt. After all the miracles that I will do there, he will let you go.


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I will make the Egyptians kind to the people of Israel so that, when you leave, you will not leave empty-handed.


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"Every Hebrew woman should ask her Egyptian neighbor and any woman living in her home for silver and gold jewelry and for clothes. Put them on your sons and daughters. This way you will strip Egypt of its wealth."


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"They will never believe me or listen to me!" Moses protested. "They will say, 'The Lord didn't appear to you.' "


text:
The Lord said, "Throw it on the ground." When Moses threw it on the ground, it became a snake, and he ran away from it.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Reach out and grab the snake by its tail." He reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a staff as he held it.


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{The Lord explained,} "This is to convince the people that the Lord God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to you."


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The Lord said to him, "Put your hand inside your shirt." So Moses did this, and when he took his hand out, it had a skin disease. It looked as {flaky as} snow.


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"Now put your hand back inside your shirt," the Lord said. Moses put it back, and when he took it out this time, it was healthy again like the rest of his body.


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{Then the Lord said,} "If they won't believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second.


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But if they won't believe these two miraculous signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the Nile will turn into blood on the ground."


text:
Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I'm not a good speaker. I've never been a good speaker, and I'm not now, even though you've spoken to me. I speak slowly, and I become tongue-tied easily."


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The Lord asked him, "Who gave humans their mouths? Who makes humans unable to talk or hear? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? It is I, the Lord!


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Then the Lord became angry with Moses and asked, "What about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He's already on his way to meet you, and he will be very glad to see you.


text:
You will speak to him and tell him what to say. I will help both of you speak, and I will teach you both what to do.


text:
Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses said to him, "Please let me go back to my own people in Egypt. I would like to see if they're still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "You may go."


text:
Now, the Lord had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, because all the men who wanted to kill you are dead."


text:
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and started out for Egypt. He also brought with him the staff God had told him to take.


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The Lord said to Moses, "When you get back to Egypt, see that you show Pharaoh all the amazing things that I have given you the power to do. But I will make him stubborn so that he will not let the people go.


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I told you to let my son go so that he may worship me. But you refused to let him go. So now I'm going to kill your firstborn son.' "


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Then Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet {with it}. She said, "You are a bridegroom of blood to me!"


text:
So the Lord let him alone. It was because of the circumcision that she said at that time, "You are a bridegroom of blood!"


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Meanwhile, the Lord had told Aaron to meet Moses in the desert. When Aaron met Moses at the mountain of God, he kissed him.


text:
Moses told Aaron everything the Lord had sent him to say and all the miraculous signs the Lord had commanded him to do.


text:
Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also did the miraculous signs for the people,


text:
and the people believed them. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about the people of Israel and that he had seen their misery, they knelt, bowing with their faces touching the ground.


text:
Later Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Let my people go into the desert to celebrate a festival in my honor."


text:
Pharaoh asked, "Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him and let Israel go? I don't know the Lord, and I won't let Israel go."


text:
They replied, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don't go, he may kill us with a plague or a war."


text:
The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why are you distracting the people from their work? Get back to work!"


text:
"Don't give the people any more straw to make bricks as you have been doing. Let them gather their own straw,


text:
but insist that they make the same number of bricks they were making before. Making fewer bricks will not be acceptable. They're lazy! That's why they're crying, 'Let us go offer sacrifices to our God.'


text:
The slave drivers and foreman went out and said to them, "This is what Pharaoh says: I'm no longer giving you straw.


text:
The slave drivers kept hurrying them. They said, "Finish the same amount of work each day, just as when you had straw."


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Pharaoh's slave drivers had placed Israelite foremen in charge of the people. The slave drivers beat the foremen and said, "You didn't finish all the bricks you were ordered to make yesterday or today. Why didn't you make as many as you used to?"


text:
We're given no straw, and yet we're told to make bricks. We're being beaten, but your men are at fault."


text:
"You're lazy! {Just plain} lazy!" Pharaoh answered. "That's why you keep saying, 'Let us go offer sacrifices to the Lord.'


text:
Now get back to work! You won't be given any straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks."


text:
The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, "Don't make fewer bricks each day than you're supposed to."


text:
So they said, "May the Lord see what you have done and judge you! You have made Pharaoh and his officials hate us. You have given them an excuse to kill us."


text:
Moses went back to the Lord and asked, "Why have you brought this trouble on your people? Why did you send me?


text:
Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak for you, he has treated your people cruelly, and you have done nothing at all to rescue your people."


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. I will show him my power, and he will let my people go. I will show him my power, and he will throw them out of his country."


text:
I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I didn't make myself known to them by my name, the Lord.


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Now I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians hold in slavery, and I have remembered my promise.


text:
"Tell the Israelites, 'I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the oppression of the Egyptians, and I will free you from slavery. I will rescue you with my powerful arm and with mighty acts of judgment.


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Then I will make you my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the forced labor of the Egyptians.


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I will bring you to the land I solemnly swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession. I am the Lord.' "


text:
Moses reported this to the Israelites. But they would not listen to him because they were so discouraged by their back-breaking work.


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But Moses protested to the Lord, "The Israelites wouldn't listen to me. Why would Pharaoh listen to me? I'm such a poor speaker."


text:
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.


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These were the heads of the families: The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These were the families descended from Reuben.


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The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the families descended from Simeon.


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These are the names of the sons of Levi listed in birth order: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.


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The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the families descended from Levi listed in birth order.


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Amram married his father's sister Jochebed. She gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.


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Aaron married Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. She gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.


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Eleazar, son of Aaron, married one of the daughters of Putiel. She gave birth to Phinehas. These were the heads of Levite households listed by their families.


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This was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, "Bring the Israelites out of Egypt in organized family groups."


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Tell your brother Aaron everything I command you, and he must tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave the country.


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But I will make Pharaoh stubborn. Even though I will do many miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt,


text:
Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will use my power to punish Egypt severely, and I will bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt in organized family groups.


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The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I use my power against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of there."


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"When Pharaoh says to you, 'Give me a sign to prove that God has sent you,' tell Aaron, 'Take your shepherd's staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh,' and it will become a large snake."


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Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a large snake.


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Then Pharaoh sent for his wise men and sorcerers. These Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells.


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Each of them threw his staff down, and they all became large snakes. But Aaron's staff swallowed theirs.


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In the morning meet Pharaoh when he's on his way to the Nile. Wait for him on the bank of the river. Take along the staff that turned into a snake.


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Say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to tell you, "Let my people go to worship me in the desert." So far you have not listened.


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Here is what the Lord says: This is the way you will recognize that I am the Lord: With this staff in my hand, I'm going to strike the Nile, and the water will turn into blood.


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The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.' "


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The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—its rivers, canals, ponds, and all its reservoirs—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt, even in the wooden and stone containers.' "


text:
Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded. In front of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised his staff and struck the Nile. All the water in the river turned into blood.


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The fish in the Nile died, and it smelled so bad that the Egyptians couldn't drink any water from the river. There was blood everywhere in Egypt.


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But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. So Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted.


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All the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink because they couldn't drink any of the water from the river.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to worship me.


text:
The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come into your palace, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your officials, on your people, into your ovens and into your mixing bowls.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Hold your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds. This will bring frogs onto the land.' "


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Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray that the Lord will take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord."


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Moses answered Pharaoh, "You may have the honor of choosing when I should pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then the frogs will leave you and your homes. The only ones left will be those in the Nile."


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"Pray for me tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say so that you will know that there is no one like the Lord our God.


text:
The frogs will leave you, your homes, your officials, and your people. The only frogs left will be those in the Nile."


text:
After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses prayed to the Lord about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh.


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When Pharaoh saw that the plague was over, he became stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Hold out your staff and strike the dust on the ground. All over Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.' "


text:
When Moses told him, Aaron held out the staff in his hand and struck the dust on the ground. It turned into gnats that bit people and animals. All the dust on the ground everywhere in Egypt turned into gnats.


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The magicians also tried to produce gnats using their magic spells, but they couldn't do it. The gnats bit people and animals.


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So the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the hand of God!" Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Early in the morning, stand in Pharaoh's way when he's going to the Nile. Say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go to worship me.


text:
If you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The homes of the Egyptians will be filled with flies, and even the ground outside will be covered with them.


text:
But on that day I will treat the region of Goshen differently. That is where my people live. There won't be any flies there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am here in this land.


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The Lord did what he said. Dense swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials. All over Egypt the flies were ruining everything.


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Moses replied, "It wouldn't be right to do that. The sacrifices we offer to the Lord our God are disgusting to Egyptians. If they see us offer sacrifices that they consider disgusting, won't they stone us to death?


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We need to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, as he told us to do."


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Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, but don't go very far. You may offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the desert and pray for me."


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Moses answered, "As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord. Tomorrow the swarms of flies will go away from you, your officials, and your people. But you must stop tricking us by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord."


text:
The Lord did what Moses asked. The swarms of flies left Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not one fly was left.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to worship me.


text:
the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats.


text:
But the Lord will distinguish between Israel's livestock and the livestock of the Egyptians. No animals belonging to the Israelites will die.' "


text:
The next day the Lord did as he said. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but none of the Israelites' animals died.


text:
Pharaoh found out that not one of the Israelites' animals had died. Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not let the people go.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take a handful of ashes from a kiln, and have Moses throw them up in the air as Pharaoh watches.


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They will become a fine dust throughout Egypt. The dust will cause boils to break into open sores on people and animals throughout Egypt."


text:
They took ashes from a kiln and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes up in the air, and they caused boils to break into open sores on people and animals.


text:
But the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he wouldn't listen to Moses and Aaron, as the Lord had predicted to Moses.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Early in the morning, go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to worship me.


text:
Now I will send plagues that will affect you personally as well as your officials and people. This is how you will know that there is no one like me anywhere on earth.


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By now I could have used my power to kill you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth.


text:
But I have spared you for this reason. I want to show you my power and make my name famous throughout the earth.


text:
So, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever happened in Egypt since the beginning of its history.


text:
Now, send {servants} to bring your livestock and everything else you have indoors. All people and animals still outside and not brought in will die when the hail falls on them.' "


text:
Those members of Pharaoh's court who listened to the Lord's warning brought their servants and cattle indoors quickly.


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But those who didn't take the Lord's warning seriously left their servants and animals out in the open.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Lift your hand toward the sky, and hail will fall on people, animals, and every plant in the fields of Egypt."


text:
When Moses lifted his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the Lord made it hail on Egypt.


text:
It hailed, and lightning flashed while it hailed. This was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.


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All over Egypt the hail knocked down everything that was out in the open. It struck down people, animals, and every plant in the fields and destroyed every tree in the fields.


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Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he told them. "The Lord is right, and my people and I are wrong.


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Pray to the Lord. We've had enough of God's thunder and hail. I'll let you go; you don't have to stay here any longer."


text:
Moses replied, "As soon as I'm out of the city, I'll spread out my hands to the Lord in prayer. The thunder will stop, and there will be no more hail. This is how you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord.


text:
(The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was in bloom.


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As soon as he left Pharaoh and went out of the city, Moses spread out his hands to the Lord in prayer. The thunder and the hail stopped, and no more rain came pouring down on the ground.


text:
When Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again. He and his officials continued to be stubborn.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh. I have made him and his officials stubborn so that I can do these miraculous signs among them.


text:
You will be able to tell your children and grandchildren exactly how I treated the Egyptians and what miraculous signs I did among them. This is how you will all know that I am the Lord."


text:
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the Lord God of the Hebrews says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself in my presence? Let my people go to worship me.


text:
They will cover the land so that the ground can't be seen. They will eat everything left by the hail, including every tree still standing in the fields.


text:
They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and those of all the Egyptians. Your parents and ancestors never saw anything like this from the time they first came here until now." Moses turned and left Pharaoh.


text:
Then Pharaoh's officials asked him, "How long will this man hold us in his grip? Let the Israelite men go to worship the Lord their God. When will you realize that Egypt is ruined?"


text:
So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your God," he said to them. "But exactly who will be going?"


text:
Moses answered, "Everyone! We'll be taking our young and old, our sons and daughters, our flocks and herds with us. For us it's a pilgrimage festival in the Lord's honor."


text:
Pharaoh said to them, "The Lord would have to be with you if I would ever let you take your women and children along. I know you're up to no good!


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No! Only the men may go to worship the Lord, since that's what you've been asking for." Then Moses and Aaron were thrown out of Pharaoh's palace.


text:
The Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt to bring locusts. They will invade Egypt and eat up every plant in the land—everything left by the hail."


text:
Moses held his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord made a wind from the east blow over the land all that day and all that night. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.


text:
They invaded all of Egypt and landed all over the country in great swarms. Never before had there been so many locusts like this, nor would there ever be that many again.


text:
They covered all the ground until it was black {with them}. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt.


text:
Then Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.


text:
Please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to the Lord your God to take this deadly plague away from me."


text:
Then the Lord changed the wind to a very strong west wind. It picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt.


text:
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Lift your hand toward the sky, and a darkness {so thick} that it can be felt will come over Egypt."


text:
People couldn't see each other, and no one went anywhere for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they were living.


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Then Pharaoh called for Moses and said, "Go, worship the Lord! Even your women and children may go with you, but your flocks and herds must stay behind."


text:
But Moses said, "You must allow us to take {our animals} for the sacrifices and burnt offerings we have to make to the Lord our God.


text:
All our livestock must go with us. Not one animal must be left behind. We'll have to use some of them for worshiping the Lord our God, and we won't know what we'll need until we get there."


text:
Pharaoh said to Moses, "Get out of my sight! Don't ever let me see your face again. The day I do, you will die."


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he will let you go. When he does, he will be certain to force all of you out of here.


text:
Now announce to the people {of Israel} that each man and woman must ask the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry."


text:
The Lord made the Egyptians kind to the people. And Moses was highly respected by Pharaoh's officials and all the Egyptians.


text:
Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who rules the land, to the firstborn children of female slaves who use their handmills, including every firstborn domestic animal.


text:
But where the Israelites are, not even a dog will be startled by any person or animal. This is how you will see that the Lord shows the distinction between Egypt and Israel.


text:
Then all these officials of yours will come, bow down to me, and say, 'You and all the people who follow you, get out!' After that I will leave." Burning with anger, Moses left Pharaoh.


text:
The Lord had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you. This is why I will do more amazing things in Egypt."


text:
Moses and Aaron showed Pharaoh all these amazing things. Yet, the Lord made Pharaoh stubborn, so he wouldn't let the Israelites leave his country.


text:
Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth {day} of this month each man must take a lamb or a young goat for his family—one animal per household.


text:
A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat.


text:
Take care of it until the fourteenth {day} of this month. "Then at dusk, all the assembled people from the community of Israel must slaughter their animals.


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They must take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they will eat the animals.


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The meat must be eaten that same night. It must be roasted over a fire and eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.


text:
This is how {you should be dressed when} you eat it: with your belt on, your sandals on your feet, and your shepherd's staff in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry. It is the Lord's Passover.


text:
"On that same night I will go throughout Egypt and kill every firstborn male, both human and animal. I will severely punish all the gods of Egypt, {because} I am the Lord.


text:
But the blood on your houses will be a sign for your protection. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Nothing will touch or destroy you when I strike Egypt.


text:
"This day will be one for you to remember. This is a permanent law for generations to come: You will celebrate this day as a pilgrimage festival in the Lord's honor.


text:
For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the very first day you must remove any yeast that you have in your houses. Whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh day must be excluded from Israel.


text:
You must have a holy assembly on the first day and another one on the seventh. You must not work on these days except to prepare your own meals. That's all you may do.


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You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread because it was on this very day that I brought you out of Egypt in organized family groups. This is a permanent law for future generations: You must celebrate this day.


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From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day you must eat unleavened bread.


text:
There should be no yeast in your houses for seven days. Whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be excluded from the community of Israel, whether he is an Israelite or not.


text:
Then Moses called for all the leaders of Israel. He said to them, "Pick out a lamb or a young goat for your families, and kill the Passover animal.


text:
Take the branch of a hyssop plant, dip it in the blood which is in a bowl, and put some of the blood on the top and sides of the doorframes {of your houses}. No one may leave the house until morning.


text:
The Lord will go throughout Egypt to kill the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, he will pass over that doorway, and he will not let the destroyer come into your home to kill you.


text:
you must answer, 'It's the Passover sacrifice in the Lord's honor. The Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he killed the Egyptians.' " Then the people knelt, bowing with their faces touching the ground.


text:
At midnight the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who ruled the land to the firstborn son of the prisoner in jail, and also every firstborn animal.


text:
Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the {other} Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died.


text:
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron during the night. He said, "You and the Israelites must leave my people at once. Go, worship the Lord as you asked.


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So the people picked up their bread dough before it had risen and carried it on their shoulders in bowls, wrapped up in their clothes.


text:
The Israelites did what Moses had told them and asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes.


text:
The Lord made the Egyptians generous to the people, and they gave them what they asked for. So the Israelites stripped Egypt of its wealth.


text:
The Israelites left Rameses to go to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, plus all the women and children.


text:
With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked round, flat bread. The dough hadn't risen because they'd been thrown out of Egypt and had no time to prepare food for the trip.


text:
That night the Lord kept watch to take them out of Egypt. (All Israelites in future generations must keep watch on this night, since it is dedicated to the Lord.)


text:
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the rules for the Passover: "No foreigner may eat the Passover meal.


text:
"The meal must be eaten inside one house. Never take any of the meat outside the house. "Never break any of the bones.


text:
"Foreigners may want to celebrate the Lord's Passover. First, every male in the household must be circumcised. Then they may celebrate the Passover like native-born Israelites. But no uncircumcised males may ever eat the Passover meal.


text:
"Set apart every firstborn male for me. Every firstborn male offspring among the Israelites is mine, whether human or animal."


text:
Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day—the day when you left Egypt, the land of slavery. The Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of there. Don't eat anything made with yeast.


text:
The Lord swore to your ancestors that he would give you the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. When he brings you into that land flowing with milk and honey, you must observe this ceremony in this month.


text:
"For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. The seventh day will be a pilgrimage festival in the Lord's honor.


text:
Only unleavened bread should be eaten during these seven days. No sourdough or yeast should be seen anywhere in your territory.


text:
On that day tell your children, 'We do this because of what the Lord did for us when we left Egypt.'


text:
This {festival} will be {like} a mark on your hand or a reminder on your forehead that the teachings of the Lord are {always} to be a part of your conversation. Because the Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of Egypt,


text:
"When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he swore to you and your ancestors,


text:
sacrifice every firstborn male offspring to the Lord. The firstborn male offspring of each of your animals belongs to the Lord.


text:
It will cost you a sheep or a goat to buy any firstborn donkey back from the Lord. If you don't buy it back, then you must break the donkey's neck. You must also buy every firstborn son back from the Lord.


text:
"In the future when your children ask you what this means, tell them, 'The Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of slavery in Egypt.


text:
When Pharaoh was too stubborn to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn male in Egypt—human and animal. This is why we sacrifice every firstborn male to the Lord and buy every firstborn son back from the Lord.'


text:
So this {festival} will be {like} a mark on your hand and {like} a band on your forehead, because the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt."


text:
When Pharaoh let the people go, God didn't lead them on the road through Philistine territory, although that was the shortest route. God said, "If they see that they have to fight a war, they may change their minds and go back to Egypt."


text:
So God led the people around the other way, on the road through the desert toward the Red Sea. The Israelites were ready for battle when they left Egypt.


text:
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear to do this. Joseph had said, "God will definitely come to help you. When he does, take my bones with you."


text:
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a column of smoke to lead them on their way. By night he went ahead of them in a column of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or by night.


text:
The column of smoke was always in front of the people during the day. The column of fire was always there at night.


text:
"Tell the Israelites to go back and set up their camp facing Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. Set up your camp facing north—by the sea.


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Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are {just} wandering around. The desert is blocking their escape.'


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I will make Pharaoh so stubborn that he will pursue them. Then, because of what I do to Pharaoh and his entire army, I will receive honor, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So that is what the Israelites did.


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When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, "What have we done? We've lost our slaves because we've let Israel go."


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He took 600 of his best chariots as well as all the other chariots in Egypt, placing an officer in each of them.


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The Lord made Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) so stubborn that he pursued the Israelites, who were boldly leaving Egypt.


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The Egyptians pursued the Israelites. Pharaoh's army, including all his horse-drawn chariots and cavalry, caught up with them as they were setting up their camp by the sea at Pi Hahiroth facing north.


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As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were coming after them. Terrified, the Israelites cried out to the Lord.


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They said to Moses, "Did you bring us out into the desert to die because there were no graves in Egypt? Look what you've done by bringing us out of Egypt!


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Didn't we tell you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone! Let us go on serving the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"


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Moses answered the people, "Don't be afraid! Stand still, and see what the Lord will do to save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again.


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Raise your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide the water. Then the Israelites will go through the sea on dry ground.


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I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry.


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The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I am honored for what I did to Pharaoh, his chariots, and his cavalry."


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The Messenger of God, who had been in front of the Israelites, moved behind them. So the column of smoke moved from in front of the Israelites and stood behind them


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between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The {column of} smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.


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Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground. The water divided,


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and the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.


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The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea.


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Just before dawn, the Lord looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic.


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He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted, "Let's get out of here! The Lord is fighting for Israel! He's against us!"


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water will flow back over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry."


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Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the water returned to its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea.


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The water flowed back and covered Pharaoh's entire army, as well as the chariots and the cavalry that had followed Israel into the sea. Not one of them survived.


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Meanwhile, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground while the water stood like a wall on their right and on their left.


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That day the Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore.


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When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.


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Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Lord. He has won a glorious victory. He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea.


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The Lord is my strength and my song. He is my Savior. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will honor him.


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He has thrown Pharaoh's chariots and army into the sea. Pharaoh's best officers were drowned in the Red Sea.


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Your right hand, O Lord, wins glory because it is strong. Your right hand, O Lord, smashes your enemies.


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With your unlimited majesty, you destroyed those who attacked you. You sent out your burning anger. It burned them up like straw.


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With a blast from your nostrils, the water piled up. The waves stood up like a dam. The deep water thickened in the middle of the sea.


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"The enemy said, 'I'll pursue them! I'll catch up with them! I'll divide the loot! I'll take all I want! I'll use my sword! I'll take all they have!'


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"Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like you? You are glorious because of your holiness and awe-inspiring because of your splendor. You perform miracles.


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"Lovingly, you will lead the people you have saved. Powerfully, you will guide them to your holy dwelling.


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The tribal leaders of Edom will be terrified. The powerful men of Moab will tremble. The people of Canaan will be deathly afraid.


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Terror and dread will fall on them. Because of the power of your arm, they will be petrified until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people you purchased pass by.


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You will bring them and plant them on your own mountain, the place where you live, O Lord, the holy place that you built with your own hands, O Lord.


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When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry went into the sea, the Lord made the water of the sea flow back over them. However, the Israelites had gone through the sea on dry ground.


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Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her.


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Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the Lord. He has won a glorious victory. He has thrown horses and their riders into the sea."


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Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.


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When they came to Marah, they couldn't drink the water because it tasted bitter. That's why the place was called Marah Bitter Place.


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Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord set down laws and rules for them to live by, and there he tested them.


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He said, "If you will listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am the Lord, who heals you."


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Next, they went to Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there by the water.


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The whole community of Israelites moved from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.


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The Israelites said to them, "If only the Lord had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!"


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The Lord said to Moses, "I'm going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.


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But on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring home, it should be twice as much as they gather on other days."


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So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt.


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In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you complaining about him. Why are you complaining about us?"


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Moses also said, "The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and all the food you want in the morning. The Lord has heard you complaining about him. Who are we? You're not complaining about us but about the Lord."


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Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole community of Israelites, 'Come into the Lord's presence. He has heard you complaining.' "


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While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they looked toward the desert. Suddenly, they saw the glory of the Lord in the {column of} smoke.


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"I've heard the Israelites complaining. Tell them, 'At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat all the food you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.' "


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That evening quails came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.


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When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, "What is this?" because they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It's the food the Lord has given you to eat.


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This is what the Lord has commanded: Each of you should gather as much as you can eat. Take two quarts for each person in your tent."


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They measured it into two-quart containers. Those who had gathered more didn't have too much. Those who had gathered less didn't have too little. They gathered as much as they could eat.


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But some of them didn't listen to Moses. They kept part of it until morning, and it was full of worms and smelled bad. So Moses was angry with them.


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But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts per person. All the leaders of the community came to Moses and told him about it.


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He said to them, "This is what the Lord said: Tomorrow is a day of worship, a holy day of worship dedicated to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Save all that's left over, and keep it until tomorrow morning."


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So they saved it until the next morning as Moses had commanded, but it didn't smell or have worms in it.


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"Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a day of worship dedicated to the Lord. You won't find anything on the ground today.


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The Lord said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do?


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Remember: The Lord has given you this day of worship. That's why he gives you enough food on the sixth day for two days. On the seventh day you may not leave. Everyone, stay where you are."


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The Israelites called the food manna. It was like coriander seeds. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey.


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Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: Take two quarts of manna to be kept for your descendants. This way they will see the food that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt."


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Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and put it in the Lord's presence to be kept for your descendants."


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Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the words of God's promise to be kept there, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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The Israelites ate manna for 40 years until they came to a place to settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of Canaan.


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The whole community of Israelites left the desert of Sin and traveled from place to place as the Lord commanded them. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.


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So they complained to Moses by saying, "Give us water to drink!" Moses said to them, "Why are you complaining to me? Why are you testing the Lord?"


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But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses and asked, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?"


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So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What should I do with these people? They're almost ready to stone me!"


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The Lord answered Moses, "Bring some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go to where the people can see you. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile River.


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I'll be standing in front of you there by a rock at Mount Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." Moses did this while the leaders of Israel watched him.


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He named that place Massah Testing and Meribah Complaining because the Israelites complained and because they tested the Lord, asking, "Is the Lord with us or not?"


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Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men. Then fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill. I will hold in my hand the staff God told me to take along."


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Joshua did as Moses told him and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill.


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As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel would win, but as soon as he put his hands down, the Amalekites would start to win.


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Eventually, Moses' hands felt heavy. So Aaron and Hur took a rock, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron held up one hand, and Hur held up the other. His hands remained steady until sunset.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Write this reminder on a scroll, and make sure that Joshua hears it, too: I will completely erase any memory of the Amalekites from the earth."


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He said, "Because a hand was lifted against the Lord's throne, he will be at war against the Amalekites from one generation to the next."


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Moses' father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people Israel and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.


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along with her two sons. The one son was named Gershom Foreigner, because Moses said, "I was a foreigner living in another country."


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The name of the other was Eliezer My God Is a Helper, because he said, "My father's God was my helper. He saved me from Pharaoh's death sentence."


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Moses' father-in-law Jethro brought Moses' sons and wife to Moses in the desert where he was camped near the mountain of God.


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Jethro had sent word to Moses, "I'm coming to {visit} you, {and I'm bringing} your wife and her two sons."


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So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed with his face touching the ground and kissed Jethro. After they asked each other how they were, they went into the tent.


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Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel, all the hardships they had had on the way, and how the Lord had saved them.


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Jethro was delighted {to hear} about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the Egyptians.


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He said, "Thank the Lord! He rescued you from the Egyptians and their Pharaoh and rescued these people from the control of the Egyptians,


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Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the leaders of Israel came to eat the meal with Moses' father-in-law in God's presence.


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The next day Moses was settling disagreements among the people. The people stood around Moses from morning until evening.


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When Moses' father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people, he asked, "Why are you doing this for the people? Why do you sit here alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?"


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Whenever they have a disagreement and bring it to me, I decide which person is right, and I tell them God's laws and instructions."


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Now listen to me, and I'll give you some advice. May God be with you! You must be the people's representative to God and bring their disagreements to him.


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You must instruct them in the laws and the teachings, show them how to live, and tell them what to do.


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"But choose capable men from all the people, men who fear God, men you can trust, men who hate corruption. Put them in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10 people.


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Let them be the ones who usually settle disagreements among the people. They should bring all important cases to you, but they should settle all minor cases themselves. Make it easier for yourself by letting them help you.


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If God commands you, and you do this, you will be able to continue your work, and all these people will have their disagreements settled so that they can go home."


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Moses chose capable men from all the Israelites and put them in charge of groups of 1,000, or 100, or 50, or 10 people.


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These men were the ones who usually settled disagreements among the people. They would bring difficult cases to Moses, but they settled all minor ones themselves.


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Israel had moved from Rephidim and had come into the desert of Sinai. They had set up camp there in front of the mountain.


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Then Moses went up the mountain to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, "This is what you must say to the descendants of Jacob. Tell the Israelites,


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'You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to my mountain.


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If you carefully obey me and are faithful to the terms of my promise, then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, even though the whole world is mine.


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You will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.' These are the words you must speak to the Israelites."


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So Moses went down and called for the leaders of the people. He repeated to them all the words that the Lord had commanded him.


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All the people answered together, "We will do everything the Lord has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.


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The Lord said to Moses, "I am coming to you in a storm cloud so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always believe you." Moses told the Lord what the people had said.


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So the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people, and tell them they have two days to get ready. They must set themselves apart as holy. Have them wash their clothes


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and be ready by the day after tomorrow. On that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as all the people watch.


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Mark off a boundary around the mountain for the people, and tell them not to go up the mountain or even touch it. Those who touch the mountain must be put to death.


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No one should touch them. They must be stoned or shot with arrows. No matter whether it's an animal or a person, it must not live. The people may go up the mountain {only} when the ram's horn sounds a long blast."


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After Moses went down the mountain to the people, he had them get ready, and they washed their clothes.


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Then Moses said to the people, "Be ready two days from now. Don't disqualify yourselves by having sexual intercourse."


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On the morning of the second day, there was thunder and lightning with a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast from a ram's horn {was heard}. All the people in the camp shook with fear.


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Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.


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All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had come down on it in fire. Smoke rose from the mountain like the smoke from a kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.


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As the sound of the horn grew louder and louder, Moses was speaking, and the voice of God answered him.


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The Lord came down on top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up.


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The Lord said to him, "Go down and warn the people not to force their way through {the boundary} to see the Lord, or many of them will die.


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Even the priests who are allowed to come near the Lord must set themselves apart as holy, or the Lord will violently kill them."


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Moses said to the Lord, "The people can't come up Mount Sinai, because you warned us yourself to mark off a boundary around the mountain and consider it holy."


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The Lord said to him, "Go down, and bring Aaron back with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through the boundary to come up to the Lord, or he will violently kill them."


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Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water.


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Never worship them or serve them, because I, the Lord your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents' sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.


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"Never use the name of the Lord your God carelessly. The Lord will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished.


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The seventh day is the day of worship dedicated to the Lord your God. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the foreigners living in your city must never do any work {on that day}.


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In six days the Lord made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He didn't work on the seventh day. That's why the Lord blessed the day he stopped his work and set this day apart as holy.


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"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live for a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


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"Never desire to take your neighbor's household away from him. "Never desire to take your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him."


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All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram's horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance.


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Then they said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we'll listen. But don't let God speak to us, or we'll die!"


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Moses answered the people, "Don't be afraid! God has come only to test you, so that you will be in awe of him and won't sin."


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The Lord said to Moses, "This is what you must say to the Israelites: You've seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.


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"You must build an altar for me made out of dirt. Sacrifice your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, your sheep, goats, and cattle on it. Wherever I choose to have my name remembered, I will come to you and bless you.


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If you build an altar for me made out of stones, never make it with cut stone blocks. If you use a chisel on it, you will make it unacceptable to me.


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"Whenever you buy a Hebrew slave, he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man, without paying for his freedom.


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If he comes to you by himself, he must leave by himself. If he comes as a married man, his wife may leave with him.


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If his master gives him a wife and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to the master, and the slave must leave by himself.


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But if he makes this statement: 'I hereby declare my love for my master, my wife, and my children. I don't want to leave as a free man,'


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then his master must bring him to God. The master must bring him to the door or the doorframe and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his slave for life.


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If she doesn't please the master who has chosen her as a wife, he must let her be bought back by one of her close relatives. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has treated her unfairly.


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If he doesn't give her these three things, she can go free, without paying any money for her freedom.


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If it wasn't done intentionally, but God let it happen, the killer should flee to a place I will set aside for you.


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But whenever someone becomes so angry that he plans to kill his neighbor, you must take him away from my altar and put him to death.


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"Whoever kidnaps another person must be put to death, whether he has sold the kidnapped person or still has him.


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"This is what you must do whenever men quarrel and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist and injures him so that he has to stay in bed.


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If the injured man can get up again and walk around outside with a cane, the one who hit him must not be punished. He must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and for all his medical expenses.


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"Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave with a stick so that the slave dies from the beating, the owner must be punished.


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But if the slave gets up in a day or two, the owner must not be punished. The slave is his property.


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"This is what you must do whenever men fight and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely. If there are no other injuries, the offender must pay whatever fine the court allows the woman's husband to demand.


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"Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave in the eye and the slave is blinded, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the eye.


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If the owner knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he must let the slave go free to make up for the loss of the tooth.


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"Whenever a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat may not be eaten. The bull's owner is free from any liability.


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But if the bull has had the habit of goring, and the owner has been warned but has not kept it confined, and it kills a man or a woman, then the bull must be stoned and its owner must be put to death, too.


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However, if only a cash settlement is demanded from the owner, the bull's owner may save his life by paying whatever price is demanded of him.


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If the bull gores a male or female slave, its owner must pay 12 ounces of silver to the slave's master, and the bull must be stoned.


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"Whenever someone opens up a cistern or digs a new one and doesn't cover it and a bull or a donkey falls into it,


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the owner of the cistern must make up for the loss. He must pay money to the animal's owner, and then the dead animal will be his.


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"Whenever one person's bull kills another person's bull, they must sell the live bull and divide the money between them. They must divide the dead bull, too.


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However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, and its owner didn't keep it confined, the owner must make up for the loss—bull for bull—and then the dead bull will be his."


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{The Lord continued,} "Whenever someone steals a bull or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must make up for the loss with five head of cattle to replace the bull or four sheep to replace the sheep.


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But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder. "A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he must be sold {as a slave} to pay for what he stole.


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But if the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it's a bull, donkey, or a sheep, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.


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"Whenever someone lets his livestock graze in a field or a vineyard, and they stray and graze in another person's field, he must make up for what the damaged field was expected to produce. But if he lets them ruin the whole field with their grazing, he must make up from his own field for the loss with the best from his field and vineyard.


text:
"Whenever a fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field, the person who started the fire must make up for the loss.


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"This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor silver or {other} valuables to keep for him, and they are stolen from that person's house: If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.


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If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor's valuables.


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If there is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, or any {other} lost property which two people claim as their own, both people must bring their case to God. The one whom God declares guilty must make up for his neighbor's loss with double the amount.


text:
"This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses.


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The case between them must be settled by swearing an oath to the Lord that the neighbor did not take the other person's animal. The owner must accept the oath. The neighbor doesn't have to make up for the loss.


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If it was killed by a wild animal, he must bring in the dead body as evidence. He doesn't have to make up for an animal that has been killed.


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"Whenever someone borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, the borrower must make up for the loss.


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If the owner is with the animal, the borrower doesn't have to make up for the loss. If it is rented, the rental fee covers the loss.


text:
"Whenever a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sexual intercourse with her, he must pay the bride-price and marry her.


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If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount of money equal to the bride-price for virgins.


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I will become angry and have you killed in combat. Then your wives and children will become widows and orphans.


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"If you lend money to my people—to any poor person among you—never act like a moneylender. Charge no interest.


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It may be the only clothes he has to cover his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will listen because I am compassionate.


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You must do the same with your cattle and your sheep. They will stay with their mothers seven days, but on the eighth day you must give them to me.


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"You must be my holy people. Never eat the meat of an animal that has been killed by wild animals out in the countryside. Throw it to the dogs."


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{The Lord continued,} "Never spread false rumors. Don't join forces with wicked people by giving false testimony.


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Never follow a crowd in doing wrong. When you testify in court, don't side with the majority to pervert justice.


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"Whenever you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering loose, be sure to take it back to him.


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Whenever you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, don't leave it there. Be sure to help him with his animal.


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Avoid telling lies. Don't kill innocent or honest people, because I will never declare guilty people innocent.


text:
Never take a bribe, because bribes blind those who can see and deny justice to those who are in the right.


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"Never oppress foreigners. You know what it's like to be foreigners because you were foreigners living in Egypt.


text:
but in the seventh year you must leave the land unplowed and unused. In that way the poor among your people will have food to eat, and wild animals may eat what the poor people leave. You must do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.


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"For six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you must not work. Then your ox and donkey can rest. The slaves born in your household and foreigners will also be refreshed.


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"Be careful {to do} everything I told you. "Never mention the names of other gods or let them be heard on your lips.


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"Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread: For seven days you must eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because that was when you left Egypt. No one may come into my presence without an offering.


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"Celebrate the Festival of the Harvest with the first produce harvested from whatever you plant in your fields. "Celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the year when you harvest your crops from the fields.


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"These are the three times each year that all your men must come into the presence of the Master, the Lord.


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"Never offer the blood of a sacrifice to me at the same time you offer anything containing yeast. The fat sacrificed at my festivals should never be left over in the morning.


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"You must bring the best of the first produce harvested from your soil to the house of the Lord your God. "Never cook a young goat in its mother's milk.


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"I'm going to send a Messenger in front of you to protect you on your trip and bring you to the place I have prepared.


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Pay attention to him, and listen to him. Don't defy him, because he will not forgive your disobedience. He is acting on my authority.


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But if you will listen to him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an opponent to your opponents.


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"My Messenger will go ahead of you and will bring you to {the land of} the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites. I will wipe them out.


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Never worship or serve their gods or follow their practices. Instead, you must destroy their gods and crush their sacred stones.


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You must serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your food and water. I will take away all sickness from among you.


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No woman in your land will miscarry or be unable to have children. I will let you live a normal life span.


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"I will send my terror ahead of you and throw any nation you meet into a panic. I will make all your enemies flee from you.


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I will not force them out of your way in one year. Otherwise, the land would be deserted, and wild animals would take over.


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Little by little I will force them out of your way until you have increased enough in number to take possession of the land.


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"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Sinai Desert to the Euphrates River. I will put the people living in the land under your control, and you will force them out of your way.


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Never let them live in your land, or they will make you sin against me and trap you into serving their gods."


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The Lord said to Moses, "You and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of Israel's leaders come up the mountain to me and worship at a distance.


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Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and legal decisions. Then all the people answered with one voice, "We will do everything the Lord has told us to do."


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So Moses wrote down all the Lord's words. Early the next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and {set up} 12 sacred stones for the 12 tribes of Israel.


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Then he sent young Israelite men, and they sacrificed bulls as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.


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Then he took the Book of the Lord's Promise and read it while the people listened. They said, "We will obey and do everything the Lord has said."


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Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, "Here is the blood which seals the promise that the Lord has made to you based on everything you have just heard."


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They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made out of sapphire as clear and blue as the sky itself.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the teachings and the commandments I have written for the people's instruction."


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He said to the leaders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Take all your disagreements to them."


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The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud.


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Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain. He stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.


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"Tell the Israelites to choose something to give me as a special contribution. You must accept whatever contribution each person freely gives.


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The angels should have their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They should face each other, looking at the throne of mercy.


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After you put into the ark the words of my promise which I will give you, place the throne of mercy on top.


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I will be above the throne of mercy between the angels whenever I meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.


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Make plates and dishes for the table out of pure gold, as well as pitchers and bowls to be used for pouring wine offerings.


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"Make a lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals must be hammered out of one piece of gold.


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Each of the six branches coming out of the lamp stand is to have three flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.


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The lamp stand itself is to have four flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.


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{The Lord continued,} "Make the inner tent with ten sheets made from fine linen yarn. Take violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and creatively work an angel design into the fabric.


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Make 50 gold fasteners. Use them to link the {two sets of} sheets together so that the tent is a single unit.


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Sew five of the sheets together into one set and the remaining six into another set. Fold the sixth sheet in half {to hang} in front of the tent.


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Make 50 bronze fasteners, and put them through the loops to link the inner tent together as a single unit.


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There will be 18 inches left over on each side because of the length of the outer tent's sheets. That part should hang over each side in order to cover the inner tent.


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Make a cover of rams' skins that have been dyed red for the outer tent. Over that put a cover made of fine leather.


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Then make 40 silver sockets at the bottom of the 20 frames, two sockets at the bottom of each frame for the two pegs.


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These will be held together at the bottom and held tightly at the top by a single ring. Both corner frames will be made this way.


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five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the far end of the inner tent, the west side.


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Cover the frames with gold, make gold rings to hold the crossbars, and cover the crossbars with gold.


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"Make a canopy of violet, purple, and bright red yarn. Creatively work an angel design into fine linen yarn.


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Use gold hooks to hang it on four posts of acacia wood covered with gold, standing in four silver sockets.


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Hang the canopy from the fasteners in the ceiling, and put the ark containing the words of my promise under it. The canopy will mark off the most holy place from the holy place.


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"Place the table outside the canopy on the north side of the inner tent, and put the lamp stand opposite the table on the south side.


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"For the entrance of the outer tent, make a screen out of fine linen yarn, embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn.


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Make five posts of acacia wood for the screen and cover them with gold. Make gold hooks for this screen. Cast five bronze bases for the posts."


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{The Lord continued,} "Make an altar out of acacia wood. It should be 7 1/2 feet square, and 4 1/2 feet high.


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Make a horn at each of its four corners. The four horns and the altar must be made out of one piece {of wood} covered with bronze.


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"Make all the utensils for it out of bronze: pots for taking away the altar's ashes, also shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners.


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"Make a grate for it out of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring for {each of} the four corners of the grate.


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"Make the altar out of boards so that it's hollow inside. It must be made just as you were shown on the mountain.


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"Make a courtyard for the tent. The south side of the courtyard should be 150 feet long and have curtains made out of fine linen yarn,


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{hung} on 20 posts {set in} 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts should be made of silver.


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The north side should be the same: 150 feet long, with curtains on 20 posts set in 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts should be made of silver.


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"The courtyard on the west end should be 75 feet wide and have curtains {hung} on ten posts {set in} ten bases.


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Each side {of the entrance} will be 22 1/2 feet wide with curtains {hung on} three posts {set in} three bases.


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"The entrance to the courtyard must have a 30-foot screen made from fine linen yarn, embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn, {hung} on four posts {set in} four bases.


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The courtyard should be 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 7 1/2 feet high, with {curtains} made of fine linen yarn and with bronze bases.


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"All the things for the tent, no matter how they're used, including all the pegs for the tent and the courtyard, must be made of bronze.


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"For the lighting, you must command the Israelites to bring you pure, virgin olive oil so that the lamps won't go out.


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In the tent of meeting outside the canopy where the words of my promise are, Aaron and his descendants must keep the lamps lit in the Lord's presence from evening until morning. This is a permanent law among the Israelites for generations to come."


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{The Lord continued,} "Out of all the Israelites, bring your brother Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar to you. They will serve me as priests.


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"Tell all those who have the skill—those to whom I have given this ability—to make Aaron's clothes. These clothes will set him apart as holy when he serves me as priest.


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These are the clothes they will make: a breastplate, an ephod and the robe that is worn with it, another specially woven linen robe, the chief priest's turban, and a cloth belt. They will make these holy clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they can serve me as priests.


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"Make the ephod out of fine linen yarn. Creatively work gold, violet, purple, and bright red yarn into the fabric.


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Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the same way a jeweler engraves a signet ring. Mount them in gold settings,


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and fasten them on the shoulder straps of the ephod as reminders of who the Israelites are. In this way Aaron will carry their names on his shoulders as a reminder in the Lord's presence.


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"Make the breastplate for decision-making as creatively as you make the ephod. Make it out of gold, violet, purple, and bright red yarn and out of fine linen yarn.


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The stones correspond to the 12 sons of Israel, by name, each stone engraved (like a signet ring) with the name of one of the 12 tribes.


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Fasten the other ends of the ropes to the two settings on the shoulder straps of the ephod {so that the breastplate hangs} in front of it.


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Make two gold rings, and fasten them to the other two corners of the breastplate on the inside edge next to the ephod.


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Make two {more} gold rings, and fasten them to the bottom of the shoulder straps on the front of the ephod. This will be close to the seam just above the belt of the ephod.


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Then the breastplate should be fastened by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord. This will attach it just above the belt of the ephod and will hold the breastplate in place.


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"Whenever Aaron goes into the holy place, he will be carrying the names of the sons of Israel over his heart as a constant reminder in the Lord's presence. He must do this by wearing the breastplate for decision-making.


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Put the Urim and Thummim into the breastplate for decision-making. They, too, will be over Aaron's heart when he comes into the Lord's presence. In this way whenever he's in the Lord's presence, Aaron will always be carrying over his heart the {means for determining the Lord's} decisions for the Israelites.


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Make an opening for the head in the center with a reinforced edge (like a leather collar) all around it to keep it from tearing.


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All around the hem of the robe make pomegranates of violet, purple, and bright red yarn with gold bells in between—


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Aaron must wear it when he serves as priest. The sound of the bells must be heard when he comes into and goes out of the Lord's presence in the holy place so that he won't die.


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"Make a flower-shaped medallion out of pure gold, and engrave on it (as on a signet ring): Holy to the Lord.


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It will be on Aaron's forehead. He's the one to be blamed for anything done wrong when the Israelites bring their holy offerings—whatever their gifts may be. The medallion must always be on Aaron's forehead so that the Lord will accept their offerings.


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"Make the specially woven inner robe of fine linen. Make the turban of fine linen, but the belt should be embroidered with colored yarn.


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"Also make linen robes, belts, and turbans for Aaron's sons. These clothes will give them dignity and honor.


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Put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint them, ordain them, and set them apart to serve me as priests.


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Aaron and his sons must wear them when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to serve as priests in the holy place. Then they will be blameless and won't die. "This is a permanent law for him and his descendants."


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{The Lord continued,} "Now, this is what you must do in order to set Aaron and his sons apart to serve me as priests: "Take a young bull that has no defects and two rams that have no defects.


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Use the finest wheat flour, but no yeast, and bake some loaves of bread, some rings of bread made with olive oil, and some wafers brushed with olive oil.


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Take the clothes, and put them on Aaron—the linen robe, the ephod and the robe that is worn with it, and the breastplate. Use the belt to tie it on him tightly.


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and put turbans on them. Tie belts around the waists of Aaron and his sons. They alone are to be priests; this is a permanent law. In this way you will ordain Aaron and his sons.


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"Then bring the young bull to the front of the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons will place their hands on its head.


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Take some of the bull's blood, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger. Pour the rest of it out at the bottom of the altar.


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"Then take all the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.


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Cut the ram into pieces, wash the internal organs and legs, and put them with the other pieces and the head.


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Then burn the whole ram on the altar. It's a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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Slaughter it, take some of the blood, and put it on the right ear lobes of Aaron and his sons, on their right thumbs, and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw the {rest of the} blood against the altar on all sides.


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Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. In this way Aaron, his sons, and their clothes will be holy.


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"From this {same} ram take the fat, the fat from the tail, the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.)


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From the basket of unleavened bread which is in the Lord's presence, take a round loaf of bread, a ring of bread made with olive oil, and a wafer.


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Then take them from their hands, and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. It's a soothing aroma in the Lord's presence, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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"Take the breast from the ram used for Aaron's ordination, and present it to the Lord. This will be your share.


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Set apart as holy the breast that is offered to the Lord and the thigh that is the contribution. Both will come from the ram used for the ordination. They both belong to Aaron and his sons.


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It is a permanent law that the Israelites give this portion to Aaron and his sons as a contribution. This will also be their contribution to the Lord from the fellowship offerings.


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"Aaron's holy clothes will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.


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The son who succeeds him as priest—the one who goes into the tent of meeting to serve in the holy place—will wear them for seven days.


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At the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons will eat the meat of the ram and the bread {left} in the basket.


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They will eat those offerings through which they made peace with the Lord at their ordination and installation. No one else may eat them because the offerings are holy.


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If any meat or bread from the ordination is left over until morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten because it is holy.


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Each day sacrifice a young bull as an offering to make peace with the Lord. Sacrifice this offering for sin on the altar in order to pay for its sins. Then anoint it {with olive oil} in order to dedicate it.


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For seven days at the altar make peace with the Lord and set the altar apart for its holy purpose. Then the altar will be most holy. Anything that touches the altar will become holy.


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With the first lamb make an offering of eight cups of flour mixed with one quart of virgin olive oil. Make a wine offering of one quart of wine.


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Offer the other lamb at dusk, and with it make the same grain offering and wine offering as in the morning. This is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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"For generations to come this will be the daily burnt offering {made} in the Lord's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. There I will meet with you to speak to you.


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I will dedicate the tent of meeting and the altar for their holy purposes. I will set Aaron and his sons apart for their holy duties of serving me as priests.


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They will know that I am the Lord their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I might live among them. I am the Lord their God."


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Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns and altar must be made out of one piece {of wood}.


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Make two gold rings, and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it.


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Put the altar in front of the canopy which {hangs} over the ark containing the words of my promise. I will meet with you there in front of the throne of mercy that is on the ark.


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"Aaron must burn sweet-smelling incense on this altar every morning when he takes care of the lamps.


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Also, when Aaron lights the lamps at dusk, he must burn incense. For generations to come an incense offering must burn constantly in the Lord's presence.


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"Never burn any unauthorized incense on this altar or any burnt offerings or grain offerings. Never pour a wine offering on it.


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Once a year Aaron must make peace with the Lord by putting blood on its horns. Once a year—for generations to come—blood from the offering must be placed on the altar to make peace with the Lord. It is most holy to the Lord."


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"When you take a census of the Israelites, each person must pay the Lord a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will happen to them when they are counted.


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As each person is counted, he must give one-fifth of an ounce of silver using the standard weight of the holy place. This one-fifth of an ounce of silver is a contribution to the Lord.


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The rich must not give more than one-fifth of an ounce of silver, and the poor must not give less. This contribution is given to make peace with the Lord and make your lives acceptable to the Lord.


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Take the money the Israelites give to make peace with the Lord, and use it to pay the expenses of the tent of meeting. It will be a reminder for the Israelites in the Lord's presence that the sins in their lives are removed."


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"Make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and fill it with water.


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Before they go into the tent of meeting, they must wash so that they will not die. Before they come near the altar to serve as priests and burn an offering by fire to the Lord,


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they will wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This will be a permanent law for him and his descendants for generations to come."


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"Take the finest spices: 12 1/2 pounds of powdered myrrh; half as much, that is, 6 1/4 pounds of fragrant cinnamon; 6 1/4 pounds of fragrant cane;


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12 1/2 pounds of cassia—all weighed using the standard weight of the holy place—and 4 quarts of olive oil.


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Have a perfumer make these into a holy oil, a fragrant mixture, used only for anointing. This will be the holy oil used for anointing.


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In this way you will dedicate them for their holy purpose. Then they will be most holy, and anything that touches them will become holy.


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Anoint Aaron and his sons as well. In this way you will set them apart for their holy duties of serving me as priests.


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It must never be poured on the bodies of other people. Never make any perfumed oil using this formula. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy.


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Whoever prepares a perfume like this or puts it on anyone who is not a priest must be excluded from the people.' "


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The Lord said to Moses, "Take one part fragrant spices (two kinds of gum resin and aromatic mollusk shells), and mix them with one part pure frankincense.


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Grind some of it into a fine powder, and put it in front of {the ark containing} the words of my promise in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. You must treat it as most holy.


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I have filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, making him highly skilled, resourceful, and knowledgeable in all trades.


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Also, I have appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, to help him. I have given every craftsman the skill necessary to make everything I have commanded you:


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the tent of meeting, the ark containing the words of my promise with the throne of mercy on it, and all the {other} furnishings for the tent,


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the special clothes—the holy clothes for the priest Aaron and the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests,


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the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense for the holy place. They will make all these things as I commanded you."


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"Say to the Israelites, 'Be sure to observe my days of worship. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come so that you will know that I am the Lord who makes you holy.


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"'Observe the day of worship because it is holy to you. Whoever treats it like any other day must be put to death. Whoever works on that day must be excluded from the people.


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You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don't work. It is holy to the Lord. Whoever works on that day must be put to death.


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The Israelites must observe this day of worship, celebrating it for generations to come as a permanent reminder of my promise.


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It will be a permanent sign between me and the Israelites, because the Lord made heaven and earth in six days, and on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.' "


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The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. Then he gave him the two tablets with his words on them, stone tablets inscribed by God himself.


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When the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. They said to him, "We don't know what has happened to this Moses, who led us out of Egypt. Make gods who will lead us."


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Aaron said to them, "Have your wives, sons, and daughters take off the gold earrings they are wearing, and bring them to me."


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After he had worked on the gold with a tool, he made it into a statue of a calf. Then they said, "Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt."


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When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of it and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival in the Lord's honor."


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Early the next day the people sacrificed burnt offerings and brought fellowship offerings. Afterward, they sat down to a feast, which turned into an orgy.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Go back down there. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined {everything}.


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They've already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They've made a statue of a calf for themselves. They've bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They've said, 'Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.' "


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Now leave me alone. I'm so angry with them I am going to destroy them. Then I'll make you into a great nation."


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But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. "Lord," he said, "why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand?


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Don't let the Egyptians say, 'He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That's why he brought them out {of our land}.' Don't be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people.


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Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.' "


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Moses turned and went down the mountain carrying the two tablets with God's words. They were written on both sides, front and back.


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Then Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting. He said to Moses, "It's the sound of war in the camp!"


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Moses replied, "It's not the sound of winners shouting. It's not the sound of losers crying. It's the sound of a wild celebration that I hear."


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When he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. In a burst of anger Moses threw down the tablets and smashed them at the foot of the mountain.


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Then he took the calf they had made, burned it, ground it into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.


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Moses asked Aaron, "What did these people do to you that you encouraged them to commit such a serious sin?"


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They said to me, 'We don't know what's happened to this Moses who brought us out of Egypt. Make gods for us. They will lead us.'


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So I told them to take off any gold they were wearing. They gave it to me. I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"


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Aaron had let the people get out of control, and they became an object of ridicule to their enemies. When Moses saw this,


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he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "If you're on the Lord's side, come over here to me!" Then all the Levites gathered around him.


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He said to them, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Each of you put on your sword. Go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other, and kill your relatives, friends, and neighbors."


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Moses said, "Today you are ordained as the Lord's priests. God gave you a blessing today because each of you fought with your own sons and brothers."


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The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a serious sin. Now I will go up the mountain to the Lord. Maybe I will be able to make a payment for your sin and make peace with the Lord for your sin."


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So Moses went back to the Lord and said, "These people have committed such a serious sin! They made gods out of gold for themselves.


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Now, go! Lead the people to the place I told you about. My Messenger will go ahead of you. But when I punish, I will punish them for their sin."


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "You and the people you brought out of Egypt must leave this place. Go to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with an oath, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.'


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I will send a Messenger ahead of you, and I will force out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.


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Go to that land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not be with you, because you are impossible to deal with, and I would destroy you on the way."


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The Lord had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, 'You are impossible to deal with. If I were with you, I might destroy you at any time. Now take off your jewelry, and I'll decide what to do with you.' "


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Now, Moses used to take a tent and set it up far outside the camp. He called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who was seeking the Lord's will used to go outside the camp to the tent of meeting.


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Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand at the entrances to their tents and watch Moses until he went in.


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As soon as Moses went into the tent, the column of smoke would come down and stay at the entrance to the tent while the Lord spoke with Moses.


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When all the people saw the column of smoke standing at the entrance to the tent, they would all bow with their faces touching the ground at the entrance to their own tents.


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The Lord would speak to Moses personally, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would come back to the camp, but his assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, stayed inside the tent.


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Moses said to the Lord, "You've been telling me to lead these people, but you haven't let me know whom you're sending with me. You've also said, 'I know you by name, and I'm pleased with you.'


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If you really are pleased with me, show me your ways so that I can know you and so that you will continue to be pleased with me. Remember: This nation is your people."


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How will anyone ever know you're pleased with your people and me unless you go with us? Then we will be different from all other people on the face of the earth."


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The Lord answered Moses, "I will do what you have asked, because I am pleased with you, and I know you by name."


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The Lord said, "I will let all my goodness pass in front of you, and there I will call out my name 'the Lord.' I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to.


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When my glory passes by, I will put you in a crevice in the cliff and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Cut two {more} stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed.


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Be ready in the morning. Then come up on Mount Sinai, and stand in my presence on the top of the mountain.


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No one may come with you or even be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds may not graze in front of this mountain."


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So Moses cut two {more} stone tablets like the first ones. Early the next morning he went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying the two stone tablets.


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Then he passed in front of Moses, calling out, "The Lord, the Lord, a compassionate and merciful God, patient, always faithful and ready to forgive.


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He continues to show his love to thousands of generations, forgiving wrongdoing, disobedience, and sin. He never lets the guilty go unpunished, punishing children and grandchildren for their parents' sins to the third and fourth generation."


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Then he said, "Lord, please go with us! Even though we are impossible to deal with, forgive our sin and the wrong we have done, and accept us as your own people."


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The Lord said, "I'm making my promise again. In front of all your people I will perform miracles that have never been done in any other nation in all the world. All the people around you will see how awesome these miracles are that I will perform for you.


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Do everything that I command today. Then I will force the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites out of your way.


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Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you're going. This will prove to be a trap to you.


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But tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, and cut down their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah.


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(Never worship any other god, because the Lord is a God who does not tolerate rivals. In fact, he is known for not tolerating rivals.)


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Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in that land. When they chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes and sacrifice to them, they may invite you to eat the meat from their sacrifices with them.


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Then your sons will end up marrying their daughters. When their daughters chase after their gods as though they were prostitutes, they'll lead your sons to do the same thing.


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"You must celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you must eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because in that month you came out of Egypt.


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"Every first male offspring is mine, even the firstborn males of all your livestock, whether cattle, sheep, or goats.


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It will cost you a sheep or a goat to buy back the firstborn donkey. If you don't buy it back, then you must break the donkey's neck. You must buy back every firstborn of your sons. "No one may come into my presence without an offering.


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"You may work six days, but on the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work {on this day}.


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"You must celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first grain from your wheat harvest, and the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the season.


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I will force nations out of your way and will expand {your country's} borders. No one will want to take away your land while you're gone three times a year to the Lord's festivals.


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"Never offer the blood of a sacrifice to me at the same time you offer anything containing yeast. No part of the sacrifice at the Passover festival should be left over in the morning.


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"You must bring the first and best of the produce harvested from your soil to the house of the Lord your God. "Never cook a young goat in its mother's milk."


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, because on the basis of these words I'm making a promise to Israel and to you."


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Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the promise, the ten commandments.


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Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the two tablets with God's words on them. His face was shining from speaking with the Lord, but he didn't know it.


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When Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses and saw his face shining, they were afraid to come near him.


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Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him. Then Moses spoke to them.


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After that, all the other Israelites came near him, and he commanded them to do everything the Lord told him on Mount Sinai.


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But whenever Moses went into the Lord's presence to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out. Whenever he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,


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they would see that Moses' face was shining. Then Moses would put the veil back on until he went in again to speak with the Lord.


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Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do:


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You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a holy day of worship, a day when you don't work. It is dedicated to the Lord. Whoever does any work on this day should be put to death.


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Choose something of your own to give as a special contribution to the Lord. Let everyone who is willing bring this kind of contribution to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze,


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the inner tent, the outer tent, and cover, along with the fasteners, frames, crossbars, posts, and sockets,


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the altar for incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet-smelling incense, the screen for the entrance to the tent,


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the altar for burnt offerings with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its accessories, the basin with its stand,


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the special clothes worn for official duties in the holy place—both the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and the clothes for his sons when they serve as priests."


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Those who were willing and whose hearts moved them came and brought their contributions to the Lord. The gifts were used to construct the tent of meeting, to pay other expenses, and to make the holy clothes.


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All who were willing—men and women alike—came and brought all kinds of gold jewelry: pins, earrings, signet rings, and pendants. They took these gifts of gold and offered them to the Lord.


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Those who had violet, purple, or bright red yarn, fine linen, goats' hair, rams' skins dyed red, or fine leather brought them.


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Those who could give silver or bronze brought it as their contribution to the Lord. Those who had acacia wood that could be used in the construction brought it.


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All the women who were skilled in spinning yarn brought violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and fine linen, which they had made by hand.


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The leaders brought onyx stones and other precious stones to be set in the {chief priest's} ephod and breastplate.


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They also brought the spices and the olive oil for the lamps, the anointing oil, and the sweet-smelling incense.


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Every Israelite man and woman who was willing brought all these items to the Lord as a freewill offering. They brought these items to be used to make everything the Lord had commanded through Moses.


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Then Moses said to the Israelites, "The Lord has chosen Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah.


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The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, making him highly skilled, resourceful, and knowledgeable in all trades.


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Also, the Lord has given Bezalel and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan the ability to teach others.


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The Lord has made these men highly skilled in all trades. They can do the work of jewelers, carpenters, and designers. They know how to embroider violet, purple and bright red yarn on fine linen. They know how to weave yarn on a loom. They can do all kinds of trades. They are master artists."


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{Moses continued,} "So Bezalel and Oholiab will do the work as the Lord has commanded. They will do this with the help of every other craftsman to whom the Lord has given the necessary skills and talents. They will know how to do all the work for constructing the holy place."


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Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every other craftsman to whom the Lord had given these skills and who was willing to come and do the work.


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Moses turned over to them all the contributions the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the holy place. But the people still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning.


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Finally, all the skilled craftsmen who were working on the holy place stopped what they were doing. They all came to Moses.


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They said, "The people are bringing much more than we need for doing the work the Lord commanded us to do."


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So Moses gave instructions to have the following message announced all over camp: "No man or woman needs to make anything more to give as their special contribution to the holy place." Then the people stopped bringing gifts.


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All the skilled craftsmen among the workers made the inner tent with ten sheets made from fine linen yarn and violet, purple, and bright red yarn. An angel design was creatively worked into the fabric.


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They also made 50 gold fasteners. They used them to link the {two sets of} sheets together so that the inner tent was a single unit.


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They made a cover out of rams' skins that had been dyed red for the outer tent, and over that they put a cover made of fine leather.


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Then they made 40 silver sockets at the bottom of the 20 frames, two sockets at the bottom of each frame for the two pegs.


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They were held together at the bottom and held tightly at the top by a single ring. Both corner frames were made this way.


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They also made crossbars out of acacia wood. Five were for the frames on one side of the inner tent,


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five were for those on the other side, and five were for the frames on the far side of the inner tent, the west side.


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They covered the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also covered the crossbars with gold.


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They made the canopy out of violet, purple, and bright red yarn and fine linen yarn. An angel design was creatively worked into the fabric.


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They made four posts of acacia wood for it and covered them with gold. They made gold hooks for the posts, and they cast four silver bases for them.


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They made a screen out of fine linen yarn for the entrance to the outer tent. It was embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn.


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They also made five posts with hooks for {hanging} the screen. They covered the tops of the posts and the bands with gold, but the five bases for the posts were made of bronze.


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The angels had their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They faced each other, looking at the throne of mercy.


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He cast four gold rings for it and fastened the rings to the four corners, where the four legs were.


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For the table he made plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers to be used for pouring wine offerings. All of them were made out of pure gold.


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He made the lamp stand out of pure gold. The lamp stand, its base, and its shaft, as well as the flower cups, buds, and petals were hammered out of one piece {of gold}.


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Each of the six branches coming out of the lamp stand had three flower cups shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.


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He made an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns and altar were made out of one piece {of wood}.


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He covered all of it with pure gold—the top, the sides, and the horns—and he put a gold molding around it.


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He made two gold rings and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it.


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He also had a perfumer make the holy oil to be used for anointing and for the pure, sweet-smelling incense.


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He made a horn at each of its four corners. He made the four horns and the altar out of one piece {of wood} covered with bronze.


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He made a grate for the altar out of bronze mesh, {and put it} under the ledge, halfway up the altar.


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He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. He made the altar out of boards so that it was hollow inside.


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He made the basin and stand out of the bronze mirrors given by the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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He also made the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was 150 feet long and had curtains made out of fine linen yarn,


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The north side was also 150 feet long with 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver.


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The west side was 75 feet long and had curtains {hung} on 10 posts {set in} 10 bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver.


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Each side of the entrance to the courtyard was 22 1/2 feet wide with curtains {hung} on three posts {set in} three bases.


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The bases for the posts were made of bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver. And the bands on all the posts of the courtyard were made of silver.


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The screen for the entrance to the courtyard was made of violet, purple, and bright red yarn embroidered on {fabric made from} fine linen yarn. It was 30 feet long and 7 1/2 feet high, just like the curtains of the courtyard.


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It was hung on four posts {set in} four bronze bases. The hooks and bands on the posts were made of silver. The tops of the posts were covered with silver.


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This is the amount of material that was used for the tent (the tent of the words of God's promise). An inventory was ordered by Moses and carried out by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron.


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Now Bezalel, son of Uri and grandson of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He was a jeweler, carpenter, designer, and he knew how to embroider violet, purple, and bright red yarn on fine linen. His assistant was Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan.


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The total amount of gold from the offerings presented to the Lord used in building the holy place weighed over 2,193 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place.


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The silver collected when the census of the community was taken weighed 7,544 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place.


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This came to one-fifth of an ounce per person, for everyone counted who was at least 20 years old: 603,550 people.


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He used 7,500 pounds of silver to cast the 100 bases for the holy place and the canopy. This was 75 pounds per base.


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He used 44 pounds of silver to make the hooks and bands for the posts and the coverings for the tops of the posts.


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With this he made the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grate and all its accessories,


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the bases all around the courtyard, the bases for the entrance to the courtyard, all the pegs for the tent, and all the pegs for the surrounding courtyard.


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From the violet, purple, and bright red yarn they made special clothes worn for official duties in the holy place. They also made the holy clothes for Aaron. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut them up. They twisted the gold into threads, which they creatively worked into each strand of the violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and throughout the fine linen.


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They made the belt that is attached to the ephod out of the same fabric. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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They mounted the onyx stones in gold settings, and engraved on them the names of the sons of Israel.


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Then they fastened them on the shoulder straps of the ephod as a reminder of who the Israelites are. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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They made the breastplate as creatively as they made the ephod. It was made out of gold, violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and of fine linen yarn.


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They fastened four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row they put red quartz, topaz, and emerald.


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They corresponded to the 12 sons of Israel, by name, each stone engraved (like a signet ring) with the name of one of the 12 tribes.


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They made two gold settings and two gold rings and attached the two rings to the {top} two corners of the breastplate.


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They fastened the other ends of the ropes to the two settings on the shoulder straps of the ephod {so that the breastplate hung} in front of it.


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They made two gold rings and fastened them to the other two corners of the breastplate on the inside edge next to the ephod.


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They made two {more} gold rings and fastened them to the bottom of the shoulder straps on the front of the ephod. This was close to the seam just above the belt of the ephod.


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Then they fastened the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a violet cord. So the breastplate was attached just above the belt of the ephod and was held in place. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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The opening in the center of the robe had a finished edge (like a leather collar) all around it to keep it from tearing.


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On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of violet, purple, and bright red yarn, and fine yarn.


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They made bells out of pure gold and fastened them in between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe.


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A gold bell alternated with a pomegranate all around the hem of the robe that is worn by Aaron when he serves as priest. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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They also made the chief priest's turban and the other beautiful turbans out of fine linen. They made the undergarments and belt out of fine linen yarn.


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The belt was embroidered with violet, purple, and bright red yarn. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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They made the flower-shaped medallion (the holy crown) out of pure gold and engraved on it (as on a signet ring): Holy to the Lord.


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They fastened a violet cord to it and tied it on top of the turban. They followed the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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So all the work on the inner tent (the tent of meeting) was now done. The Israelites followed all the Lord's instructions to Moses.


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Then they brought everything to Moses—the inner tent, the outer tent and all its furnishings, the fasteners, frames, crossbars, posts, sockets,


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the pure {gold} lamp stand with its lamps in a row and all its utensils, the olive oil for the lamps,


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the gold altar, the anointing oil, the sweet-smelling incense, the screen for the entrance to the tent,


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the bronze altar with its bronze grate, its poles, and all its accessories, the basin with its stand,


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the curtains for the courtyard, the posts, bases, and screen for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and pegs—all the equipment needed for the service of the inner tent (the tent of meeting)—


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the special clothes worn when serving as priests in the holy place—both the holy clothes for the priest Aaron and the clothes for his sons when serving as priests.


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Moses inspected all the work and saw that they had followed the Lord's instructions. So Moses blessed them.


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Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything in it. In this way you will dedicate it and all its furnishings. Then it will be holy.


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Anoint the altar for burnt offerings and all the utensils. In this way you will dedicate the altar, and it will be most holy.


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Then dress Aaron in the holy clothes, and anoint him. In this way you will dedicate him to serve me as priest.


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Anoint them to serve me as priests, as you anointed their father. Their anointing will begin a permanent priesthood for them for generations to come."


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So the tent was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year {after the Israelites had left Egypt}.


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When Moses set up the tent, he put the sockets in place, put up the frames, inserted the crossbars, and set up the posts.


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He spread the outer tent over the inner tent and put the cover on top. Moses followed the Lord's instructions.


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He took the words of God's promise and put them in the ark. He put the poles on the ark and placed the throne of mercy on top of the ark.


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Then he brought the ark into the tent and hung the canopy over it to mark off where the ark was. Moses followed the Lord's instructions.


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He put the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent (the tent of meeting). He sacrificed burnt offerings and grain offerings on it. Moses followed the Lord's instructions.


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They would wash whenever they went into the tent of meeting or whenever they approached the altar. Moses followed the Lord's instructions.


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He set up the courtyard around the tent and the altar and put up the screen at the entrance to the courtyard. Finally, Moses finished the work.


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Moses couldn't go into the tent of meeting, because the smoke settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tent.


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In all their travels, whenever the {column of} smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp.


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So the Lord's column stayed over the tent during the day, and there was fire in the smoke at night. In this way all the Israelites could see the column throughout their travels.


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"Tell the Israelites: If any of you bring a sacrifice to the Lord, you must offer an animal from your cattle, sheep, or goats.


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"If you bring a burnt offering from your cattle, you must offer a male that has no defects. Offer it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that the Lord will accept you.


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Place your hand on the animal's head. The burnt offering will be accepted to make peace with the Lord.


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Then slaughter the bull in the Lord's presence. Aaron's sons, the priests, will offer the blood. They will throw it against all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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Aaron's sons, the priests, will also lay the pieces, the head, and the fat on top of the wood burning on the altar.


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Wash the internal organs and legs. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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Slaughter it in the Lord's presence on the north side of the altar. Aaron's sons, the priests, will throw the blood against the altar on all sides.


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The priest must bring it to the altar. He will break its neck and burn the bird on the altar. First, he will drain the blood against the side of the altar.


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Remove the gizzard with its filth and throw it on the east side of the altar on the place for the ashes.


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Then pull on the bird's wings to tear the bird open, but don't pull the wings off. Then the priest will lay the bird on the wood burning on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord."


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{The Lord continued,} "Now, if any of you bring a grain offering to the Lord, your offering must be flour. Pour olive oil on it, and put incense on it.


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Then bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests. Take from this a handful of flour with olive oil, and all the incense. The priest will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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The rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is very holy, set apart from the Lord's offering by fire.


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"If you bring a grain offering which has been baked in an oven, it must be rings of unleavened bread made of flour mixed with olive oil or wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil.


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If your grain offering is prepared in a frying pan, it, too, will be unleavened bread made of flour mixed with olive oil.


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"Bring the Lord the grain offering prepared in any of these ways. Offer it to the priest who will bring it to the altar.


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The priest will remove part of the grain offering and burn it as a reminder on the altar. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is very holy, set apart from the Lord's offering by fire.


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"Every grain offering that you bring to the Lord must be prepared without yeast. Never burn yeast or honey as an offering to the Lord.


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You may bring them to the Lord as offerings of your first products. But they must never be placed on the altar to make a soothing aroma.


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Also put salt on each of your grain offerings. The salt of God's promise must never be left out of your grain offerings. Put salt on all your offerings.


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"If you bring a grain offering to the Lord from the first grain you harvest, roast the cracked grain over fire.


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The priest will burn the flour, olive oil, and all the incense as a reminder. It is an offering by fire to the Lord."


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{The Lord continued,} "If your sacrifice is a fellowship offering of cattle in the Lord's presence, it must be a male or female animal that has no defects.


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Place your hand on the animal's head. Then slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron's sons, the priests, will throw the blood against the altar on all sides.


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and the two kidneys with the fat on them and offer them by fire to the Lord. Also cut off the lobe of the liver along with the kidneys.


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Then Aaron's sons will lay them on top of the burnt offering on the burning wood. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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"If your sacrifice is a fellowship offering of sheep to the Lord, you must bring a male or female animal that has no defects.


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Place your hand on the animal's head. Slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron's sons will throw the blood against the altar on all sides.


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Then take the fat from the fellowship offering and offer it by fire to the Lord. Remove all the fat from the tail and the fat that covers the internal organs.


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Then the priest will burn the fellowship offering on the altar. It is food, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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Place your hand on its head. Slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron's sons will throw the blood against the altar on all sides.


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and the two kidneys with the fat on them as an offering by fire to the Lord. Also remove the lobe of the liver along with the kidneys.


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Then the priest will burn them on the altar. It is food, an offering by fire to the Lord. It is a soothing aroma. All the fat belongs to the Lord.


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"Tell the Israelites: If a person unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing that is forbidden by any of the Lord's commands—this is what he must do.


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"If the anointed priest does something wrong and brings guilt on the people, he must bring a bull that has no defects as an offering for sin to the Lord.


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He must bring the bull into the Lord's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will place his hand on the bull's head. He will then slaughter the bull in the Lord's presence.


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The priest will dip his finger in it and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in the Lord's presence facing the canopy in the holy place.


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Then the priest will put some of the blood on the horns of the altar for sweet-smelling incense in the Lord's presence in the tent of meeting. He will pour the rest of the bull's blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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He will remove all of the fat from the bull that is the offering for sin, the fat that covers the internal organs,


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the same way they were removed from the bull used for the fellowship offering. The priest will lay them on the altar for burnt offerings.


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"If the whole congregation of Israel unintentionally does something wrong, without the assembly being aware of it, if they do even one thing that is forbidden by any of the Lord's commands, they will be guilty.


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When the wrong they have done becomes known, the congregation must sacrifice a bull as an offering for sin. They must bring it in front of the tent of meeting.


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The leaders of the congregation will place their hands on the bull's head in the Lord's presence. One of them will slaughter it in the Lord's presence.


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The priest will dip his finger in some of the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the Lord's presence facing the canopy.


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He will also put some blood on the horns of the altar in the Lord's presence in the tent of meeting. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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He will do the same thing with this bull that he did with the bull used as the offering for sin. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for the people, and they will be forgiven.


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Then he will take the bull outside the camp and will burn it the same way he burned the first bull. It is an offering for sin for the community.


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"When a leader unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing that is forbidden by any of the commands of the Lord his God—he will be guilty.


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When he is told about what he has done wrong, he must bring a male goat that has no defects as his offering.


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He will place his hand on the goat's head and slaughter it in the Lord's presence where he slaughters animals for burnt offerings. It is an offering for sin.


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Then the priest will take some of the blood of the offering for sin with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar for burnt offerings.


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He will burn all the fat on the altar the same way the fat of the fellowship offering is burned. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what the leader did wrong, and the leader will be forgiven.


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"If a common person unintentionally does something wrong—even one thing forbidden by the Lord's commands—he will be guilty.


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When he is told about what he has done wrong, he must bring a female goat that has no defects as his offering for what he has done wrong.


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He will place his hand on the animal's head and slaughter it where animals for burnt offerings are slaughtered.


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The priest will take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar.


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He will remove all the fat the same way it is removed from the fellowship offering. The priest will burn it on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for that person, and that person will be forgiven.


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He will place his hand on the animal's head and slaughter it where he slaughters animals for burnt offerings.


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Then the priest will take some of the blood from the offering for sin with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar for burnt offerings. He will pour the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar.


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He will remove all the fat the same way the fat of the lamb is removed from the fellowship offerings. Then the priest will burn it on the altar with the offering by fire to the Lord. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what that person did wrong, and that person will be forgiven."


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{The Lord continued,} "Now, if you are a witness under oath and won't tell what you saw or what you know, you are sinning and will be punished.


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"If you touch anything unclean—the unclean dead body of a wild or tame animal or the body of an unclean, swarming creature—and then ignore what you did, you are unclean and will be guilty.


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"If you become unclean by touching human uncleanness of any kind and then ignore it (although you know what you did), you will be guilty.


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"If you hastily take a vow about what you will or will not do (as some people do) and then ignore it (although you know what you said), you will be guilty.


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Bring your guilt offering to the Lord for the sin you committed. It must be a female sheep or goat as an offering for sin. Then the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.


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"Now, if you cannot afford a sheep, you must bring to the Lord two mourning doves or two pigeons as a guilt offering for the sin you committed. One will be an offering for sin, the other a burnt offering.


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Bring them to the priest, and he will sacrifice the offering for sin first. He will break the bird's neck without pulling its head off.


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He will sprinkle some of the blood from the offering for sin on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood will be drained at the bottom of the altar. It is an offering for sin.


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Then, following the proper procedures, he will sacrifice the second bird as a burnt offering. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong.


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"But if you cannot afford two mourning doves or two pigeons, then bring eight cups of flour as an offering for the sin you committed. Never put olive oil on it or add incense to it, because it is an offering for sin.


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Bring it to the priest. The priest will take a handful of it. He will burn it as a reminder on top of the offering by fire to the Lord on the altar. It is an offering for sin.


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So the priest will make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven. The offering will belong to the priest like the grain offering."


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"If any of you fail to do your duty by unintentionally doing something wrong with any of the Lord's holy things, bring a guilt offering to the Lord. It must be a ram that has no defects or its value in silver weighed according to the official standards of the holy place.


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Pay for whatever holy things you used plus one-fifth more. Give it to the priest. So the priest will use the ram sacrificed for the guilt offering to make peace with the Lord for what you did wrong, and you will be forgiven.


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"If any of you do wrong—even one thing forbidden by any of the Lord's commands, but you didn't know it—when you realize your guilt, you must be punished.


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You must bring the priest a ram that has no defects from the flock or its value in money for a guilt offering. The priest will make peace with the Lord for the wrong you did unintentionally (although you didn't know what you did), and you will be forgiven.


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"If any of you sin against the Lord by failing to do your duty, if you lie to your neighbor about something you were supposed to take care of or if you lie about something stolen or seized from your neighbor, you are sinning and will be guilty.


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If you find something that someone lost and lie about it under oath, or commit any other sin like this,


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you are sinning and will be guilty. Return what you stole or seized, what you were supposed to take care of, the lost item you found,


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or whatever it was that you swore falsely about. Pay it back in full plus one-fifth more. Give it back to its owner on the day you bring your guilt offering.


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Then bring the Lord your guilt offering, a ram that has no defects or its value in money. Bring it to the priest.


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So the priest will make peace with the Lord. Then you will be forgiven for whatever you did that made you guilty."


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"Command Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the burnt offering that stays on the altar overnight while the altar fire is kept burning.


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"The priest must put on his linen clothes, including his linen undergarments. Then he will remove the ashes left on the altar from the fire that consumed the burnt offering and will put them next to the altar.


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Then he will take off these clothes and put on some others. He will take the ashes to a clean place outside the camp.


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The fire must always be burning on the altar. It must never go out. The priest will burn wood on it every morning. He will lay the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offering.


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"These are the instructions for the grain offering. Aaron's sons must bring it into the Lord's presence in front of the altar.


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One of them will remove a handful of flour from the grain offering, together with the olive oil and all the incense. He will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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Aaron and his sons will eat the rest of it. They will eat unleavened bread in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.


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Don't use yeast in baking the bread. I have given it to them as their share from the offerings by fire made to me. It is very holy like the offering for sin and the guilt offering.


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Every male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is a permanent law for generations to come regarding the offering by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches it will become holy."


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"This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed—eight cups of flour. They must do this every day. He must offer half of it in the morning and half in the evening.


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Prepare it in a frying pan with olive oil, mixing it well. Offer baked pieces of the grain offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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Aaron's son who is anointed to take his place as priest will prepare it. This is a permanent law of the Lord: It must be completely burned.


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"Tell Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the offering for sin. The offering for sin must be slaughtered in the Lord's presence in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. It is very holy.


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The priest who makes the offering for sin will eat it in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.


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Anything that touches its meat will be holy. If blood gets on someone's clothes, he must wash them in a holy place.


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Any piece of pottery in which the offering for sin is cooked must be broken into pieces. Any copper kettle in which the offering for sin is cooked must be scoured and rinsed with water.


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Any offering for sin must not be eaten if some of the blood was brought into the holy place in the tent of meeting to make peace with the Lord. It must be burned."


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It must be slaughtered in the same place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. {A priest} will throw the blood against the altar on all sides.


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and the two kidneys with the fat on them. He will also remove the lobe of the liver along with the kidneys.


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"The same instructions apply to the offering for sin and the guilt offering. Both offerings belong to the priest to make peace with the Lord.


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Every grain offering, whether baked in an oven or prepared in a skillet or a frying pan, belongs to the priest who offers it.


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Every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, will be shared equally by all of Aaron's sons.


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If you offer it as a thank offering, you must also bring rings of unleavened bread mixed with olive oil, wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, and loaves made from flour mixed well with olive oil.


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In addition to these rings of bread, you must bring bread with yeast along with your fellowship offering of thanksgiving.


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From every offering you must bring one loaf to the Lord as a {special} contribution. It will belong to the priest who throws the blood of the fellowship offering.


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"The meat from your fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered. Never leave any of it until morning.


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"If your sacrificial offering is something you vowed or a freewill offering, it must be eaten the day you offer it or the next day.


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You will not be accepted if any meat from the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day. You will not receive credit for it. It is repulsive to God. The person who eats any of it must be punished.


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"Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten. It must be burned. Anyone who is clean may eat from these sacrifices.


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Those who eat meat from the Lord's fellowship offering while unclean must be excluded from the people.


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Those who touch anything unclean, human or animal, or any other disgusting uncleanness and still eat the Lord's fellowship offering must be excluded from the people."


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The fat from an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals you may use for any other purpose, but you must never eat it.


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Those who eat the fat from an animal which they sacrificed by fire to the Lord must be excluded from the people.


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"Tell the Israelites: Anyone who offers the Lord a fellowship offering must bring a part of that sacrifice as a gift to the Lord.


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Bring the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord yourself. Bring the fat with the breast. Take the breast and present it to the Lord.


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When any of Aaron's sons offer the blood and fat of the fellowship offering, the right thigh will belong to him as his share.


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From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that was presented {to me} and the thigh from the contribution offering. I have given them to the priest Aaron and his sons. This is a permanent law for generations to come.


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"This is the share for Aaron and his sons from the sacrifices by fire made to the Lord. It was given to them on the day Moses ordained them to serve the Lord as priests.


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The Lord commanded the Israelites to give it to them on the day he anointed them. This is a permanent law for generations to come."


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These are the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the offering for sin, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the fellowship offering.


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On Mount Sinai the Lord gave Moses commands about these offerings at the same time that he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to him in the Sinai Desert.


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"Take Aaron and his sons, the priests' clothes, the anointing oil, the bull that will be the offering for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread.


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Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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He put the linen robe on Aaron and fastened the belt around him. He also dressed him in the robe that is worn with the ephod. He fastened the ephod to it.


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He put the turban on him and fastened the gold medallion (the holy crown) to the front of the turban as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times and anointed the altar, all the utensils, and the basin with its stand to dedicate them.


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He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him to set him apart for his holy duties.


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Moses had Aaron's sons come forward. He put linen robes on them, fastened their belts around them, and put turbans on them as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He brought the bull that was the offering for sin. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on its head.


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When it was slaughtered, Moses took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and cleansed the altar from sins. He poured the rest of the blood at the bottom of the altar and declared it holy so that priests could use it to make peace with the Lord.


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Moses took all the fat that was on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and he burned them on the altar.


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He burned the rest of the bull, its skin, meat, and excrement outside the camp, as the Lord commanded him.


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He brought forward the ram for the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram's head.


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He washed the internal organs and the legs. Then Moses burned the whole ram on the altar as the Lord commanded him. It was a burnt offering, a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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He brought forward the second ram for the ordination offering. Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the ram's head.


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Moses slaughtered it, took some of the blood, and put it on Aaron's right ear lobe, on his right thumb, and on the big toe of his right foot.


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Moses also brought Aaron's sons forward. He put some of the blood on their right ear lobes, on their right thumbs, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses threw the rest of the blood against all the sides of the altar.


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He took the fat, the fat from the tail, all the fat on the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh.


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He took a loaf of unleavened bread, a ring of bread made with olive oil, and a wafer from the basket of unleavened bread which was in the Lord's presence. He put them on the fat and the right thigh.


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Then he placed all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Moses presented all these things to the Lord as an offering.


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Then he took them from their hands and burned them on top of the burnt offering on the altar. These were ordination offerings, offerings by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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Moses also took the breast from the ram of the ordination offering and presented it to the Lord. It was Moses' share, as the Lord had commanded.


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Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, sprinkled it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. In this way he dedicated Aaron, his clothes, his sons, and their clothes.


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Moses told Aaron and his sons: "Cook the meat at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Take the meat and the bread in the basket of the ordination offering. Eat them there as I commanded when I said, 'Aaron and his sons will eat it.'


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You will not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, not until the last day of your ordination is over. It will take seven days to ordain you.


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You will stay at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days and serve as the Lord tells you. Then you will not die. This is what I was commanded."


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He told Aaron, "Take a calf that has no defects for yourself as an offering for sin and a ram that has no defects as a burnt offering. Sacrifice them in the Lord's presence.


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Also tell the Israelites: 'Take a male goat as an offering for sin, a calf and a lamb (each one-year-old and without defects) as a burnt offering,


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a bull and a ram as a fellowship offering, and a grain offering mixed with olive oil to sacrifice in the Lord's presence. The Lord will appear to you today.' "


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So they took the things Moses commanded and brought them in front of the tent of meeting. The whole congregation came and stood in the Lord's presence.


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Moses said, "The Lord has commanded you to offer these sacrifices so that you may see the Lord's glory."


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Moses told Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice an offering for sin and a burnt offering to make peace with the Lord for your sins and the sins of the people. Also make an offering for the people, to make peace with the Lord for them as the Lord commanded."


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Aaron's sons brought him the blood. He dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. Then he poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar.


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On the altar he burned the fat, kidneys, and lobe of the liver from the offering for sin as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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He slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering. Aaron's sons gave him the blood, and he threw it against the altar on all sides.


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They also gave him the burnt offering, which was cut in pieces and included the head. He burned it on the altar.


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He brought the people's offerings. He took the male goat for the people's offering for sin and slaughtered it. He sacrificed it to take away sins as he had done before.


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He also brought the grain offering. He took a handful of grain and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning burnt offering.


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He slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people's fellowship offering. Aaron's sons gave him the blood, which he threw against the altar on all sides.


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However, the fat from the bull and the ram (the fat from the tail, the layer of fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver)


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However, he first took the breasts and the right thighs and presented them to the Lord as Moses commanded.


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Then Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them. He sacrificed the offering for sin, the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering. Then he came down {from the altar}.


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Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people. Then the Lord's glory appeared to all the people.


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Fire came out from the Lord's presence and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar. When all the people saw this, they shouted and bowed with their faces touching the ground.


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Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took an incense burner and put burning coals and incense in it. Then in the Lord's presence they offered this unauthorized fire.


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Moses said to Aaron, "This is exactly what the Lord said: 'I will show my holiness among those who come to me. I will show my glory to all the people.' " Aaron was speechless.


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Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle, Uzziel. He told them, "Come and take your relatives away from in front of the holy place. Take them outside the camp."


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So they came and took them away to a place outside the camp, as Moses told them. The dead men were still in their linen robes.


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Moses told Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar: "Do not mourn by leaving your hair uncombed or tearing your clothes. If you do, you will die and the Lord will become angry with the whole congregation. All the other Israelites may cry over the fire the Lord sent, but you may not.


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You must not leave the entrance to the tent of meeting or else you, too, will die, because the Lord has anointed you with his oil." They obeyed Moses.


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"You and your sons must not drink any wine or liquor when you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a permanent law for generations to come.


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Teach them the difference between what is holy and what is unholy, what is clean and what is unclean.


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Moses told Aaron and his surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offering by fire to the Lord. Make unleavened bread, and eat it next to the altar because it is very holy.


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Eat it in a holy place because it is the part of the offering by fire to the Lord that belongs to you and your children. That is the command I received.


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Also eat the breast presented {to the Lord} and the thigh that was given as a contribution. You and your sons and daughters may eat them in a clean place because they are your part of the fellowship offerings from the Israelites.


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They will bring the thigh given as a contribution, the breast presented {to the Lord}, and the fat that is to be burned and present them to the Lord. These parts will belong to you and your children. This will be a permanent law, as the Lord has commanded."


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Moses tried to find out what had happened to the male goat that was supposed to be the offering for sin. To his surprise, it had already been burned. So he became angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's surviving sons.


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He asked them, "Why didn't you eat the offering for sin in the holy place? It is very holy and was given to you to take away the sins of the congregation and to make peace with the Lord for them.


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Since its blood was not brought inside the holy place, you certainly should have eaten it there, as I commanded."


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Aaron answered Moses, "Today they sacrificed their offering for sin and their burnt offering in the Lord's presence, and look what happened to me. If I had eaten the offering for sin today, would the Lord have approved?"


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However, from those that either chew their cud or have divided hoofs, these are the kinds you must never eat: You must never eat camels. (Camels are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.)


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You must never eat rock badgers. (Rock badgers are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.)


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You must never eat rabbits. (Rabbits are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.)


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You must never eat pigs. (Because pigs have completely divided hoofs but do not chew their cud, they are also unclean.)


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"Here are the kinds of creatures that live in the water which you may eat—anything in the seas and streams that has fins and scales.


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However, you must consider all swarming creatures living in the seas or the streams that have no fins or scales disgusting.


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"Here are the kinds of birds you must consider disgusting and must not eat. They are eagles, bearded vultures, black vultures,


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"Every swarming, winged insect that walks across the ground like a four-legged animal is disgusting to you.


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Every kind of winged insect that walks across the ground like a four-legged animal is disgusting to you.


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"Regarding the creatures mentioned above, this is how you would become unclean: Whoever touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening.


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Whoever carries any part of their dead bodies must wash his clothes. He will be unclean until evening.


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All animals whose hoofs are not completely divided or that don't chew their cud are unclean for you. Whoever touches them is unclean.


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All four-legged animals that walk on their paws are unclean for you. Whoever touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening.


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Those who carry the dead body of any of these animals must wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening. These animals are unclean for you.


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"The following swarming creatures that move on the ground are unclean for you—moles, mice, and all types of lizards:


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Among all the swarming creatures that move on the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening.


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When the dead body of one of these creatures falls on something, that thing will be unclean. It may be a wooden article, clothing, leather, a sack, or anything used for any purpose. It should be put in water and will be unclean until evening. Then it will be clean {again}.


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"If any of these creatures falls into a piece of pottery, break the pottery because everything in it is unclean.


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If water {from that pottery} touches any food, the food is unclean. Any liquid that you drink from that pottery is unclean.


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Anything on which their dead bodies fall is unclean. If it is an oven or a stove, smash it. It is unclean and will remain unclean for you.


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However, a spring or a cistern holding water will remain clean. But anyone who touches their dead bodies will be unclean.


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"When any animal that you are allowed to eat dies, whoever touches its dead body will be unclean until evening.


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Those who eat any of its dead body must wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening. Those who carry its dead body away will wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening.


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Don't eat any creature with many legs that goes on its belly or on the ground like a four-legged animal, or any creature that swarms on the ground. Consider them disgusting.


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Don't become disgusting by eating anything that swarms on the ground. Never allow yourselves to become unclean because of them.


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"Here is the reason: I am the Lord your God. You must live holy lives. Be holy because I am holy. Never become unclean by touching anything that swarms or crawls on the ground.


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Here is the reason {again}: I am the Lord. I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. Be holy because I am holy.


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"These are the instructions about animals, birds, and every living creature that swims in the water and every creature that swarms on the ground.


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These instructions help you distinguish between clean and unclean, the animals you may eat and those you may not eat."


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"Tell the Israelites: When a woman gives birth to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days. This is the same number of days she is unclean for her monthly period.


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Then she must stay at home for 33 days in order to be made clean from her bleeding. She must not touch anything holy or go into the holy place until the days needed to make her clean are over.


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"When a woman gives birth to a girl, she will be unclean as in her monthly period. However, she will be unclean for two weeks. Then she must stay at home for 66 days in order to be made clean from her bleeding.


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"When the days needed to make her clean are over, she must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a mourning dove as an offering for sin. She must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The priest will offer them in the Lord's presence to make peace with the Lord for her. Then she will be clean from her flow of blood. "These are the instructions for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl.


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If she cannot afford a lamb, she must use two mourning doves or two pigeons. One will be the burnt offering and the other the offering for sin. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for her, and she will be clean."


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"If anyone has a sore, a rash, or an irritated area on his skin that turns into an infectious skin disease, he must be taken to the priest Aaron or to one of his sons who are also priests.


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The priest will examine the disease. If the hair in the diseased area has turned white, and the diseased area looks deeper than the rest of his skin, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest has examined him, he must declare him unclean.


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But if the irritated area is white and does not look deeper than the rest of the skin, and the hair has not turned white, the priest must put him in isolation for seven days.


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On the seventh day the priest will examine him again. If the disease looks the same and has not spread, the priest must put him in isolation for another seven days.


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On the seventh day the priest will examine him again. If the diseased area has faded and not spread, the priest must declare him clean. It is only a rash. The person must wash his clothes and will be clean.


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But if the rash has spread after he has shown himself to the priest to be declared clean, he must show himself to the priest again.


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The priest will examine him one more time, and if the rash has spread, the priest must declare him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.


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The priest will examine him. If there is a white sore that has turned the hair white, and if there is raw flesh in the sore,


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he has a chronic skin disease. Without putting him in isolation, the priest must declare him unclean because he is unclean.


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If skin disease develops and covers the whole person from head to foot (so far as the priest can see),


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the priest will examine him. If the disease does cover his whole body, the priest must declare the diseased person clean. His body has turned white. The person is clean.


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The priest will examine the raw flesh and declare him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.


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The priest will examine him again, and if the diseased area has turned white, the priest must declare the diseased person clean. He is clean.


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The priest will examine it. If it looks deeper than the rest of the skin and its hair has turned white, the priest must declare the person unclean. An infectious skin disease has developed in the boil.


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But if the priest examines the affected area and the hair in it is not white or the affected area is not deeper than the rest of the skin but has faded, the priest must put him in isolation for seven days.


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But if the irritated area has not spread, it is a scar caused by the boil. The priest must declare him clean.


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"If anyone has a burn on his skin and the raw flesh of the burn turns into a pink or bright white area,


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the priest will examine it. If the hair on the affected area has turned white and the affected area looks deeper than the rest of the skin, an infectious skin disease has developed in the burn. The priest must declare him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.


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But if the priest examines it and the hair in it is not white and the affected area is not deeper than the rest of the skin but has faded, the priest must put him in isolation for seven days.


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On the seventh day the priest will examine him again. If the area has spread, the priest must declare him unclean. It is an infectious skin disease.


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If the irritated area does not spread but has faded, it is only a sore caused by the burn. The priest must declare him clean, because it is a scar caused by the burn.


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the priest will examine the disease. If it looks deeper than the rest of the skin and there is thin yellow hair on it, the priest must declare the person unclean. It is a scab, a disease on the head or the chin.


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But if the priest examines the scabby disease and it does not look deeper than the rest of the skin and there is no black hair in it, the priest must put the person with the scabby disease in isolation for seven days.


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On the seventh day the priest will examine the disease. If the scab has not spread, there is no yellow hair on it, and the scab does not look deeper than the rest of the skin,


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the person will shave everything except the scab. The priest will put the person with the scab in isolation for another seven days.


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On the seventh day the priest will examine the scab again. If the scab has not spread on the skin and does not look deeper than the rest of the skin, the priest must declare him clean. When he has washed his clothes, he will be clean.


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the priest will make another examination. If the scab has spread on the skin, the priest does not have to look for yellow hair. The person is unclean.


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But if he sees that the scab hasn't spread and black hair grows on it, the scab is healed. The person is clean, so the priest must declare him clean.


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the priest will make an examination. If the irritated areas on the skin are pale white, a rash has developed on the skin. The person is clean.


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But if there is a pink patch on the bald places in back or in front, a skin disease is developing in those places.


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The priest will examine him. If the sore from the disease in the bald places in back or in front is pink like a skin disease somewhere else on the body,


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the man has come down with an infectious skin disease. He is unclean. The priest must declare him unclean because of the skin disease on his head.


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"People who come down with a skin disease must wear torn clothes and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their upper lips and call out, 'Unclean, unclean!'


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The priest will examine the area again after it is washed. If it doesn't look any different and the mildew has not spread, it is still unclean. It must be burned, whether the area is on the outside or the inside.


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If the priest sees that the area is pale after washing, he will tear it out of the clothing or the leather.


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But if the area disappears from the woven or knitted clothing or any leather article when it is washed, wash it again, and it will be clean.


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"These are the instructions for deciding whether mildew in clothing that is woven or knitted from linen or wool or in any leather article is clean or unclean."


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"These are the instructions for making a person clean after a skin disease. He must be taken to the priest.


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the priest will order someone to get two living, clean birds, some cedar wood, red yarn, and a hyssop sprig to use for the cleansing.


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The priest will take the living bird, the cedar wood, the red yarn, and the hyssop sprig and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.


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He will sprinkle the blood seven times on the one to be cleansed and will declare that person clean. Then he will let the living bird fly away into the open country.


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"The one to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash. Then he will be clean. After that he may go into the camp. However, for seven days he will live outside his tent.


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On the seventh day he must shave off all the hair on his head, his beard, and his eyebrows, and he must wash his clothes and body. Then he will be clean.


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"On the eighth day he must take two male lambs that have no defects and a one-year-old female lamb that has no defects. He must also take eight cups of flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering along with a quart of olive oil.


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The priest who will declare him clean must bring the person and his offerings into the Lord's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The priest will take one of the male lambs and the quart of olive oil and present them to the Lord as a guilt offering.


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He will slaughter the lamb in the holy place where he slaughters the offering for sin and the burnt offering. He will do this because the guilt offering, like the offering for sin, belongs to the priest. It is very holy.


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Then the priest will take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed.


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He will dip his right finger in the oil in his left hand, and with his finger sprinkle some of the oil seven times in the Lord's presence.


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The priest will put some of the oil that is still in his hand on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. These are the same places he had put the blood of the guilt offering.


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The priest will put the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the one to be cleansed. So he will make peace with the Lord for that person in the Lord's presence.


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The priest will also sacrifice the offering for sin to make peace with the Lord for the one who is being cleansed from his impurity. After that, he will slaughter the burnt offering.


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The priest will sacrifice the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest will make peace with the Lord for that person, and the person who had the skin disease will be clean.


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"But if the one to be cleansed is poor and cannot afford that much, he must take one male lamb, present it to make peace with the Lord for himself, and use it for his guilt offering. He will take only eight cups of flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering, a quart of olive oil,


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and two mourning doves or two pigeons (whatever he can afford). The one will be an offering for sin and the other a burnt offering.


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On the eighth day he will take them to the priest for his cleansing at the entrance to the tent of meeting in the Lord's presence.


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The priest will take the lamb for the guilt offering and the quart of olive oil and present them to the Lord.


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He will slaughter the lamb as a guilt offering. Then the priest will take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed.


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The priest will put some of the oil that is in his hand on the right ear lobe, on the right thumb, and on the big toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. These are the same places he had put the blood of the guilt offering.


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In the Lord's presence, the priest will pour the rest of the oil in his hand on the head of the one to be cleansed in order to make a payment for him.


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Then the one to be cleansed must take one of the mourning doves or pigeons (whichever he can afford),


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and sacrifice it as an offering for sin. He will take the other and sacrifice it as a burnt offering together with the grain offering. So in the Lord's presence the priest will make peace with the Lord for the one who is being cleansed.


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These are the instructions for one who has an infectious skin disease but cannot afford what is needed for his cleansing."


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The owner of that house must come and tell the priest that there is something that looks like mildew in his house.


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"Before the priest examines the house, he will order everything taken out of it so that nothing in the house will become unclean. Then the priest will go inside to examine the house.


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He will examine the mildew area on the walls. If it is green and red in sunken areas that are deeper than the rest of the wall,


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On the seventh day the priest will go back and examine it again. If the mildew in the walls of the house has spread,


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the priest must order the stones that have the mildew to be torn out and thrown outside the city in an unclean place.


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He must have the entire inside of the house scraped. The plaster dust scraped off the walls must be dumped in an unclean place outside the city.


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the priest will examine it one more time. If it is a spreading type of mildew, the house is unclean.


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The house—stones, wood, and all the plaster—must be torn down and taken to an unclean place outside the city.


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But if the priest comes and makes an examination and the mildew has not spread in the house after it is plastered again, the priest must declare the house clean. The mildew is gone.


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"The priest must take two birds, cedar wood, red yarn, and a hyssop sprig and use them to make the house clean.


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He must take the cedar wood, the hyssop sprig, the red yarn, and the living bird and dip them in the fresh water containing the blood of the bird that was killed. He must sprinkle the house seven times.


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So he must use the bird's blood, the fresh water, the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the red yarn to make the house clean.


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Then he will let the living bird fly from the city into the open country. He will make peace with the Lord for the house, and it will be clean.


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These instructions for skin diseases and mildew help you distinguish between what is clean and what is unclean."


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He is unclean because of the discharge from his penis. Whether it is chronic or not makes no difference; he is still unclean.


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Those who touch his bed must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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Those who sit on anything he sat on must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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Those who touch a man who has a discharge must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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If a man who has a discharge spits on anyone who is clean, the person he spits on must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening.


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Those who carry such things must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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If a man who has a discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands, the person he touched must wash his clothes and his body. He will be unclean until evening.


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When a man who has a discharge touches pottery, it must be broken, and any wooden bucket he touches must be rinsed.


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"When a man's discharge stops, he must wait seven days to be cleansed. He must wash his clothes and his body in fresh water. Then he will be clean.


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On the eighth day he must take two mourning doves or two pigeons and come into the Lord's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will give these birds to the priest.


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The priest will sacrifice one as an offering for sin and the other as a burnt offering. So in the Lord's presence, the priest will make peace with the Lord for the man who had a discharge.


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"When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and has an emission of semen, they must wash themselves. They will be unclean until evening.


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"When a woman has her monthly period, she will be unclean for seven days. Those who touch her will be unclean until evening.


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Those who touch her bed must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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Those who touch anything she sits on must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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If a man has sexual intercourse with her while she has her period, he will be unclean for seven days. Any bed he lies on will become unclean.


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"If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days other than her monthly period, she is unclean. If her period lasts longer than usual, she will be unclean as long as she has a discharge. It is like her period.


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As long as she has a discharge, any bed she lies on or anything she sits on is unclean. It is like her period.


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Those who touch these things are unclean and must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening.


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On the eighth day she must take two mourning doves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The priest will offer one as an offering for sin and the other as a burnt offering. So in the Lord's presence the priest will make peace with the Lord for the woman who had an unclean discharge.


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"You must separate the Israelites from anything that keeps them from being presentable to me. Otherwise, they will die because they make my tent, which is among them, unclean.


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"These are the instructions for any man who has a discharge or an emission of semen that makes him unclean,


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for any woman who has her period, for any man or woman who has a discharge, or for any man who has sexual intercourse with a woman when she is unclean."


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The Lord said, "Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the ark, he will die, because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy.


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"This is what Aaron must do in order to come into the holy place: He must take a bull as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering.


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He must put on a holy linen robe and wear linen undergarments. He must wear a linen belt and turban. These are holy clothes. He must wash his body and put them on.


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He will take two male goats from the congregation of Israel as an offering for sin and a ram as a burnt offering.


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"Aaron must sacrifice the bull as his own offering for sin. By doing this, he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.


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He must take the two male goats and bring them into the Lord's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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Then Aaron must throw lots for the two goats. One lot will be for the Lord and the other for Azazel.


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But he must bring the goat chosen by lot for Azazel into the Lord's presence. He will release it in the desert to Azazel in order to make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.


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"Aaron will bring the bull. He will then slaughter it as his own offering for sin. By doing this he will make peace with the Lord for himself and his family.


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He will take an incense burner full of burning coals from the altar, which is in the Lord's presence, and two handfuls of finely ground, sweet-smelling incense. He will bring them up to the canopy.


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Then he will put the incense on the fire in the Lord's presence. The cloud of incense will cover the throne of mercy, which is over the words of God's promise, so that he will not die.


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He will take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the throne of mercy. Then he will sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the throne of mercy.


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"Next, Aaron will slaughter the goat for the people's offering for sin. He will take the blood inside, go up to the canopy, and sprinkle it on the throne of mercy and in front of it, as he did with the bull's blood.


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So he will make peace with the Lord for all the sins the Israelites committed against the holy place. These sins happened because the Israelites were unclean and because they committed rebellious acts. He will do the same for the tent of meeting which is among an unclean people.


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No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron enters the holy place to do this until he comes out. Aaron will make peace with the Lord for his own sins, his family's sins, and the sins of the entire assembly of Israel.


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Then he will go out to the altar that is in the Lord's presence and make peace with the Lord there for the sins committed. He will take some of the blood from the bull and some of the goat's blood and put it all around the horns of the altar.


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With his finger he will sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times. Because the Israelites made it unclean, he will cleanse it and declare it holy.


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"When he finishes making peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he will bring the living goat forward.


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Aaron will place both hands on its head. He will confess over it all the sins, all the rebellious acts, and all the things the Israelites did wrong. He will transfer them to the goat's head. A man will be appointed to release the goat in the desert.


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The goat will take all their sins away to a deserted place. The man must release the goat in the desert.


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"Then Aaron will go to the tent of meeting, take off the linen clothes he had put on to go into the holy place, and leave them there.


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He will wash his body in the holy place and put on his other clothes. Then he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and for the people to make peace with the Lord for his own sins and the sins of the people.


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"The man who released the goat to Azazel must wash his clothes and his body. Then he may return to the camp.


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He must take the bull and the goat outside the camp. These animals were the offering for sin whose blood was brought into the holy place to make peace with the Lord for sins. The skin, meat, and excrement from the animals must be burned.


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"This will be a permanent law for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month both native Israelites and foreigners must humble themselves. They must do no work.


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On this day Aaron will make peace with the Lord to make you clean. Then you will be clean from all your sins in the Lord's presence.


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This is the most important worship festival there is for you. You will humble yourselves. It is a permanent law.


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The priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as chief priest in his father's place will pay for sins. He will put on the holy linen clothes


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and will make peace with the Lord at the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar. He will make peace with the Lord for the priests and all the worshipers.


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"This permanent law tells you how to make peace with the Lord once a year for all the sins the Israelites committed." Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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is guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and must be excluded from the people. Bring the animal to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Offer it to the Lord in front of the Lord's tent.


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{This means} that the people of Israel must take the sacrifices they have been making in the open fields and bring them to the Lord. They must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The people will sacrifice them as fellowship offerings to the Lord.


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The priest will pour the blood against the Lord's altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He will burn the fat as a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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The people must stop sacrificing to goat idols and chasing after them as though they were prostitutes. This is a permanent law for the people and for future generations.


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but do not bring them to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer them to the Lord, they must be excluded from the people.


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because blood contains life. I have given this blood to you to make peace with me on the altar. Blood is needed to make peace with me.


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"If Israelites or foreigners hunt any animal or bird that may be eaten, they must pour out the animal's blood and cover it with dirt.


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This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded {from the people}.


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"Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean.


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You used to live in Egypt. Don't live the way the Egyptians do. I am bringing you to Canaan. Don't live the way the Canaanites do. Never live by their standards.


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"Never have sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your own mother. Never have sexual intercourse with her.


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Never have sexual intercourse with your stepsister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter. It makes no difference whether or not she was born in your house.


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Never have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether she is your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, because she is related to you.


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Never have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife. Never have sexual intercourse with her.


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Never have sexual intercourse with a woman and her daughter or a woman and her granddaughter. They are related. Doing this is perverted.


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While your wife is living, never marry her sister as a rival wife and have sexual intercourse with her.


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Never give your children as sacrifices to the god Molech {by burning them alive}. If you do, you are dishonoring the name of your God. I am the Lord.


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Never have sexual intercourse with any animal and become unclean with it. A woman must never offer herself to an animal for sexual intercourse. It is unnatural.


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"Do not become unclean in any of these ways. By these practices all the nations which I am forcing out of your way have become unclean.


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The land has become unclean. I will punish it for its sins. The land will vomit out those who live in it.


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Live by my standards, and obey my rules. Neither you nor any foreigner should ever do any of these disgusting things.


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The people of the land who were there before you did all these disgusting things. As a result, the land has become unclean.


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If you make the land unclean, it will vomit you out as it has vomited out the people who were there before you.


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So you must follow my instructions. Don't live by the standards of the people who lived there before you. What they do is disgusting. Never become unclean that way. I am the Lord your God."


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"Don't turn to worthless gods or cast metal idols. Never make any gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.


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"When you bring a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it {properly} so that you will be accepted.


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Eat your sacrifice on the day you bring it and on the next day. On the third day burn whatever is left over.


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Those who eat it will be punished because they have dishonored what is holy to the Lord. They must be excluded from the people.


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"When you harvest the grain in your land, don't harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you're finished.


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Don't harvest your vineyard a second time or pick up fallen grapes. Leave them for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.


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"Never swear by my name in order to deceive anyone. This dishonors the name of your God. I am the Lord.


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Never curse deaf people or put anything in the way of blind people to make them stumble. Instead, fear your God. I am the Lord.


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"Don't be corrupt when administering justice. Never give special favors to poor people, and never show preference to important people. Judge your neighbor fairly.


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"Never hate another Israelite. Be sure to correct your neighbor so that you will not be guilty of sinning along with him.


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Never get revenge. Never hold a grudge against any of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.


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"Obey my laws. Never crossbreed different kinds of animals. Never plant two kinds of crops in your field. Never wear clothes made from two kinds of material.


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"If a man has sexual intercourse with a female slave who is engaged to another man and if her freedom was never bought or given to her, they should not be put to death. He will only pay a fine because she is a slave.


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In the Lord's presence the priest will use them to make peace with the Lord for this sin. The man will be forgiven for this sin.


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"When you come into the land and plant all kinds of fruit trees, you must not eat the fruit for {the first} three years.


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In the fifth year you may eat the fruit. Do this to make the trees produce more for you. I am the Lord your God.


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"Never eat any meat with blood still in it. "Never cast evil spells, and never consult fortunetellers.


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"Never dishonor your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the country will turn to prostitution and be filled with people who are perverted.


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"Show respect to the elderly, and honor older people. In this way you show respect for your God. I am the Lord.


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Foreigners living among you will be like your own people. Love them as you love yourself, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.


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Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest measures. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt.


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"Tell the Israelites: If Israelites or foreigners living among you give one of their children as a sacrifice to {the god} Molech, they must be put to death. The common people must stone them to death.


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I will condemn them and exclude them from the people. They gave one of their children to Molech, made my holy tent unclean, and dishonored my holy name.


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I will condemn them and their families. I will exclude them from the people. I will exclude from the people everyone who chases after Molech as if he were a prostitute.


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"I will condemn people who turn to mediums and psychics and chase after them as though they were prostitutes. I will exclude them from the people.


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"Whoever curses his father or mother must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother and deserves to die.


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"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife or with his neighbor's wife, both he and the woman must be put to death for their adultery.


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Whoever has sexual intercourse with his father's wife has violated his father's marriage. Both he and his father's wife must be put to death. They deserve to die.


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If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have done a disgusting thing and deserve to die.


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When a man has sexual intercourse with another man as with a woman, both men are doing something disgusting and must be put to death. They deserve to die.


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When a man marries a woman and her mother, they have done a perverted thing. The man and the two women must be burned. Never do this perverted thing.


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A man who has sexual intercourse with an animal must be put to death. You must kill the animal, too.


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When a woman offers herself sexually to any animal, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. They deserve to die.


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Whoever takes his sister, his father's daughter or his mother's daughter, and has sexual intercourse does a shameful thing. They both must be publicly excluded from the people. He has had sexual intercourse with his sister and must be punished.


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If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman while she has her monthly period, both of them have had sexual intercourse in blood. They must be excluded from the people.


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Never have sexual intercourse with your mother's sister or your father's sister. Whoever has sexual intercourse with a close relative must be punished.


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Whoever has sexual intercourse with his uncle's wife violates his uncle's marriage. That man and woman are guilty of sin. They will die without children.


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Whoever marries his brother's wife violates his brother's marriage and does an unclean thing. That man and woman will have no children.


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"If you carefully obey all my laws and my rules, the land I am bringing you to live in will not vomit you out.


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Never follow the practices of the people I am forcing out of your way. I cannot stand them because they did all these things.


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I have told you that you will take their land. I will give it to you as your own. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who separated you from other people.


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Separate clean and unclean animals and birds. Never become disgusting by eating any animal or bird or anything that crawls on the ground. I have separated you from every unclean thing.


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Be my holy people because I, the Lord, am holy. I have separated you from other people to be my very own.


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"Every man or woman who is a medium or a psychic must be put to death. They must be stoned to death because they deserve to die."


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The Lord spoke to Moses, "Tell the priests, Aaron's sons: None of you should become unclean by touching one of your relatives who has died.


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However, you are allowed to become unclean when one of your nearest relatives dies. These relatives include your mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,


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"You should never mourn by shaving bald spots on your heads, shaving the edges of your beards, or slashing your bodies.


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"Be God's holy men, and don't dishonor the name of your God. Be holy because you bring sacrifices by fire to the Lord. It is the food of your God.


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You should never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God's holy man.


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Be holy because you offer the food of your God. Be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I set you apart as holy.


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When a priest's daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned.


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"The priest who is anointed with oil and wears the chief priest's clothes is chief over his brothers. He must never mourn by leaving his hair uncombed or by tearing his clothes.


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He must not leave the holy tent of his God. If he does, he will be dishonoring it, because he is dedicated with the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord.


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He must never marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people.


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"Tell Aaron: If any of your descendants (now or in future generations) has a physical defect, he must never bring food to offer to God.


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Indeed, no one who has a physical defect may ever come near {the altar}. That means anyone who is blind or lame, who has a disfigured face, a deformity,


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If a descendant of the priest Aaron has a physical defect, he must never bring sacrifices by fire to the Lord. He has a defect. He must never bring food to offer to God.


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However, he must never come up to the canopy or to the altar, since he has a physical defect. He must never dishonor the holy places because I, the Lord, set them apart as holy."


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"Tell Aaron and his sons that they must respect the holy offerings which the Israelites set apart for me. In this way they will not dishonor my holy name. I am the Lord.


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"Tell them: In future generations if any of your descendants, while unclean, comes near the holy offerings the Israelites set apart for the Lord, that person must be excluded from my presence. I am the Lord.


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"No descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the holy offerings until he is clean. Any person who has an emission of semen or touches a dead body,


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will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has washed himself.


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When the sun has set, he will be clean. Then he may eat the holy offerings because they are his food.


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He must never eat the meat of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals. It will make him unclean. I am the Lord.


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The priests must do what I order, or their sin will bring them death because they dishonored a holy offering. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy.


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"Laypeople must never eat any holy offering, even if they are visiting a priest or are working for him.


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However, if a priest's daughter marries a layman, she must never eat the food taken from the holy contributions.


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If a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced, doesn't have any children, and comes back to live in her father's home, she may eat her father's food. But a layperson must never eat it.


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"Those who eat a holy offering by mistake must give another holy offering to the priest and add one-fifth more to it.


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They must make those people pay the penalty for their guilt because they have eaten the priests' holy offerings. I am the Lord, who sets them apart as holy."


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"Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Israelites or foreigners may bring burnt offerings to the Lord for anything they vowed or as freewill offerings.


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The offering must be a male that has no defects from your cattle, sheep, or goats in order to be accepted.


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A person may bring the Lord a fellowship offering to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering. Whether it is from the cattle, sheep, or goats, it must be an animal that has no defects in order to be accepted. It must never be an animal that has defects.


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Never bring the Lord an animal that is blind, has broken bones, cuts, warts, scabs, or ringworm. Never give the Lord any of these in a sacrifice by fire on the altar.


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You may use a bull or a sheep with a deformity or one that is stunted in growth as a freewill offering. However, it will not be accepted for a vow.


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Never bring the Lord an animal that has bruised, crushed, torn out, or cut out testicles. Never do any of these things to an animal in your land.


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Never bring any kind of castrated animal received from a foreigner as a food offering for your God. A castrated animal will not be accepted on your behalf because castration is a physical defect."


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"When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it may be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to the Lord.


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Never dishonor my holy name. I will show my holiness among the Israelites. I am the Lord, who sets you apart as holy.


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"Tell the Israelites: These are the appointed festivals with the Lord, which you must announce as holy assemblies.


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You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don't work, a holy assembly. Don't do any work. It is the Lord's day of worship wherever you live.


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"The following are the Lord's appointed festivals with holy assemblies, which you must announce at their appointed times.


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The fifteenth day of this same month is the Lord's Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.


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Bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire for seven days. On the seventh day there will be a holy assembly. Don't do any regular work."


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"Tell the Israelites: When you come to the land I am going to give you and you harvest grain, bring the priest a bundle of the first grain you harvest.


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He will present it to the Lord so that you will be accepted. He will present it on the day after Passover.


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On the day you present the bundle, you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects as a burnt offering to the Lord.


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Bring a grain offering of four quarts of flour mixed with olive oil with it. This will be a sacrifice by fire made to the Lord, a soothing aroma. Use one quart of wine for the wine offering.


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Don't eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this same day, when you bring the offering to your God. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.


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"Count seven full weeks from the day after Passover (the day you bring the bundle of grain as an offering presented to the Lord)


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until the day after the seventh week. This is a total of fifty days. Then bring a new grain offering to the Lord.


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Bring two loaves of bread from your homes to present to the Lord. Bake them with four quarts of flour. They are the first harvested grain for the Lord.


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With the bread bring seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects, one bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord. With these offerings also bring grain and wine offerings. They will be a sacrifice by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.


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Also sacrifice one male goat as an offering for sin and two one-year-old lambs as a fellowship offering.


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The priest must present them along with the bread of the first harvested grain as an offering to the Lord. All this, along with the two lambs, will be holy and will belong to the Lord's priests.


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Make an announcement that there will be a holy assembly on that same day. Don't do any regular work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live.


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"When you harvest the grain in your land, don't harvest the grain in the corners of your fields or gather what is left after you're finished. Leave it for poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God."


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"Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams' horns.


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"In addition, the tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire.


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Don't do any work that day. It is a special day for the payment for sins. It is a time when you make peace with the Lord your God.


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It is a day of worship, a day when you don't work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of worship."


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"Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths to the Lord. It will last seven days.


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For seven consecutive days bring a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day there will be a holy assembly. Bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire. This is the last festival of the year. Don't do any regular work.


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"These are the Lord's appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to the Lord. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings—each one on its special day.


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This is in addition to the Lord's days of worship, your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to the Lord.


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"However, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered what the land produces, celebrate the Lord's festival for seven days. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals.


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On the first day take the best fruits, palm branches, the branches of leafy trees and poplars, and celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God for seven days.


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It is the Lord's festival. Celebrate it for seven days each year. This is a permanent law for generations to come. Celebrate this festival in the seventh month.


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so that generations to come may learn how I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."


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"Command the Israelites to bring you pure, virgin olive oil for the lamp stand so that the lamps won't go out.


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In the tent of meeting, outside the canopy where the words of my promise are, Aaron must keep the lamps lit in the Lord's presence from evening until morning. It is a permanent law for generations to come.


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Lay pure incense on top of each stack. The incense on the bread will be a reminder, an offering by fire to the Lord.


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Every day of worship {a priest} must arrange the bread in the Lord's presence. It is a continual reminder of my promise to the Israelites.


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The bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat it in a holy place. It is very holy, set apart from the Lord's offering by fire. This is a permanent law."


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A man, whose mother was Shelomith (daughter of Dibri, from the tribe of Dan in Israel) and whose father was from Egypt, got into a quarrel with an Israelite in the camp.


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The Israelite woman's son began cursing the Lord's name and treating it with contempt. So they brought him to Moses.


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"The man who cursed {my name} must be taken outside the camp. All who heard him curse {my name} must lay their hands on his head. Then the whole congregation must stone him to death.


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But those who curse the Lord's name must be put to death. The whole congregation must stone them to death. It makes no difference whether they are Israelites or foreigners. Whoever curses the Lord's name must die.


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a broken bone for a broken bone, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whoever injures another person must receive the same injury in return.


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The same rule applies to every one of you. It makes no difference whether you are a foreigner or an Israelite, because I am the Lord your God."


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Moses spoke to the people of Israel. So the man who had cursed the Lord's name was taken outside the camp. There they stoned him to death as the Lord commanded Moses. The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.


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"Tell the Israelites: When you come into the land I'm giving you, the land will celebrate a year to honor the Lord.


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Then, for six years you may plant crops in your fields, prune your vineyards, and gather what they produce.


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However, the seventh year will be a festival year for the land. It will be a year to honor the Lord. Don't plant crops in your fields or prune your vineyards.


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Don't harvest what grows by itself or harvest grapes from your vines. That year will be a festival for the land.


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Whatever the land produces during that year is for all of you to eat—for you, your male and female slaves, your hired workers, foreigners among you,


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On the tenth day of the seventh month, the special day for the payment for sin, sound rams' horns throughout the country.


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Set apart the fiftieth year as holy, and proclaim liberty to everyone living in the land. This is your jubilee year. Every slave will be freed in order to return to his property and to his family.


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That fiftieth year will be your jubilee year. Don't plant or harvest what grows by itself or pick grapes from the vines in the land.


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When you buy property from your neighbor, take into account the number of years since the jubilee. Your neighbor must sell it to you taking into account the number of crops {until the next jubilee}.


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If there are still many years {until the jubilee}, you will pay more for it. If there are only a few years {until the jubilee}, you will pay less for it because he is selling you only the number of crops.


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You will plant {again} in the eighth year but live on what the land already produced. You will eat it, even in the ninth year, until the land produces more.


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"Land must never be sold permanently, because the land is mine. To me you are strangers without permanent homes.


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If your brother becomes poor and sells some of his property, then the one who can assume responsibility, his nearest relative, must buy back what he sold.


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If a man doesn't have anyone to buy it back for him, but if he prospers and earns enough to buy it back himself,


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he must count the years from its sale. Then he will pay what is left to the man to whom he sold it, and it will be his property again.


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However, if he cannot earn enough to buy it back, what he sold stays in the hands of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it will be released, and he will own it again.


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"If anyone sells a home in a walled city, for one year after selling it he has the right to buy it back. He may buy it back only within that time.


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If he does not buy it back during that year, the house in the city belongs to the buyer for generations to come. It will not be released in the jubilee.


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However, houses in villages without walls are regarded as belonging to the fields of the land. They can be bought back. They will be released in the jubilee.


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If any Levite buys back {a house}, in the jubilee the purchased house in the city will be released, because the houses in the Levite cities are their property among the Israelites.


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"If an Israelite becomes poor and cannot support himself, help him. He must live with you as a stranger without a permanent home.


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Don't collect interest or make any profit from him. Fear your God by respecting other Israelites' lives.


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Then you will release him and his children to go back to their family and the property of their ancestors.


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You may also buy them from the foreigners living among you and from their families born in your country. They will be your property.


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You may acquire them for yourselves and for your descendants as permanent property. You may work them as slaves. However, do not treat the Israelites harshly. They are your relatives.


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"Someone who is a foreigner without a permanent home among you may become rich, and your relative living with him may be poor. The poor Israelite may sell himself to that foreigner or a member of his family.


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After he has sold himself, he has the right to be bought back. One of his brothers may buy him back.


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His uncle, his cousin, or some other relative could also buy him back. If he becomes rich, he could buy his own freedom.


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Then he and his buyer must take into account the number of years from the year he was bought until the year of jubilee. His sale price will be adjusted based on the number of years he was with his buyer, like the wages of a hired worker.


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If there are many years left, he must refund from his purchase price an amount equal {to those years}.


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If there are only a few years left until the year of jubilee, he must take them into account. He must refund from his purchase price an amount equal to those years.


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During those years he should serve his buyer as a hired worker. His buyer should not treat him harshly.


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If he cannot buy his freedom in these ways, he and his children will be released in the year of jubilee.


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"The Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."


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{The Lord continued,} "Never make worthless idols or set up a carved statue or a sacred stone for yourselves. Never cut figures in stone to worship them in your country, because I am the Lord your God.


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"I will give you rain at the right time. The land will produce its crops, and the trees in the field will produce their fruit.


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Threshing time will last until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until planting. You will eat all you want and live securely in your land.


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"I will bring peace to your land. You will lie down with no one to scare you. I will remove dangerous animals, and there will be no war in your land.


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Five of you will chase a hundred of them, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them. You will defeat your enemies,


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I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt so that you are no longer slaves of the Egyptians. I have broken their power over you and made you live as a free people.


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if you reject my laws and look at my rules with disgust, if you reject my promise by disobeying my commands,


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then this is what I will do to you: I will terrorize you with disease and fever. You will suffer from eye problems and depression. You will plant your crops and get nothing because your enemies will eat them.


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I will condemn you so that you will go down in defeat in front of your enemies. Those who hate you will be your rulers. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.


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You will work hard for nothing because your land will produce no crops and the trees will produce no fruit.


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I will send wild animals among you. They will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, and make you so few that your roads will be deserted.


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I will bring war on you to get revenge for my promise {that you rejected}. When you gather in your cities, I will send plagues on you and you will fall under the control of your enemy.


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I will destroy your food supply. Ten women will need only one oven to prepare your food. You will eat and go away hungry.


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I will destroy your worship sites, cut down your incense altars, and pile your dead bodies on top of your dead idols. I will look at you with disgust.


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I will make your cities deserted and ruin your sacred places. I will no longer accept the soothing aroma from your sacrifices.


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I will scatter you among the nations. War will follow you. Your country will be in ruins. Your cities will be deserted.


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"Then the land will enjoy its time {to honor the Lord} while it lies deserted and you are in your enemies' land. Then the land will joyfully celebrate its time {to honor the Lord}.


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All the days it lies deserted, it will celebrate the time {to honor the Lord} it never celebrated while you lived there.


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I will fill with despair those who are left in the land of their enemies. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them.


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They will stumble over each other, but no one will be after them. They will not be able to stand up to their enemies.


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Those who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins and the sins of their ancestors.


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"But if they confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—the treacherous things they did to oppose me—


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I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt,


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The land, abandoned by them, will enjoy its time to honor the Lord while it lies deserted without them. They must accept their guilt because they rejected my rules and looked at my laws with disgust.


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Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or look at them with disgust. I will not reject or cancel my promise to them, because I am the Lord their God.


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But for their sake, I will remember the promise to their ancestors. I brought them out of Egypt to be their God while nations looked on. I am the Lord."


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These are the laws, rules, and instructions that the Lord gave to the Israelites through Moses on Mount Sinai.


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"Tell the Israelites: If any of you makes a special vow {to give a person} to the Lord, you may give money instead of the person.


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The amount you must give for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 20 ounces of silver. Use the standard weight of the holy place.


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For a boy from one month to five years old, give 2 ounces of silver and for a girl give about one ounce.


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But the person who is too poor to pay the required amount must stand in front of the priest. The priest will determine the amount based on what the person can afford.


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"If {the vow} is to give the kind of animal that people offer to the Lord, it will be considered holy.


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Don't exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one. If you do exchange one animal for another, then both animals will be holy.


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If it is an unclean animal that cannot be brought to the Lord as an offering, bring it in front of the priest.


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"If you give your house to the Lord as something holy, the priest will determine what its value is. The value will be whatever the priest decides.


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"If a person gives part of a field to the Lord as something holy, its value will be based on the seed planted on it. Ground planted with 2 quarts of barley will be worth 20 ounces of silver.


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But if you give the field after the jubilee year, the priest will estimate its value based on the number of years left until the next jubilee year.


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When the field is released in the jubilee year, it will be holy like a field claimed by the Lord. It will become the property of the priest.


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You may give a field you bought (not one that was a part of your family property) to the Lord as something holy.


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The priest must figure out the field's value until the jubilee year. You will pay its value on that day as something holy, belonging to the Lord.


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In the jubilee year the field will go back to the person from whom it was bought, to whom it belongs as family property.


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"A firstborn animal already belongs to the Lord because it was born first. Therefore, it cannot be set apart as holy. Whether it is a bull or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord.


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But if it is an unclean animal, it must be bought back. The payment will be its full value plus one-fifth more. If it is not bought back, it must be sold at the value given it.


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"However, everything dedicated to the Lord for destruction—a person, an animal, or a field that belongs to you—must not be sold or bought back. Everything dedicated in that way is very holy. It belongs to the Lord.


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You must not look to see if it is good or bad or exchange it. But if you do exchange it, both the first animal and its substitute will be holy. They cannot be bought back."


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The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai. It was the first day of the second month in the second year after leaving Egypt. He said,


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who is at least 20 years old. You and Aaron must register everyone in Israel who is eligible for military duty. List them by divisions.


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Elishama, son of Ammihud, from the tribe of Ephraim; Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, from the tribe of Manasseh; (Ephraim and Manasseh are Joseph's descendants.)


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These were the men chosen from the community, the leaders of their ancestors' tribes, and heads of the divisions of Israel.


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and assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. Each man at least 20 years old provided his genealogy by family and household. Then his name was listed.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Reuben, Israel's firstborn son, listed every man by name who was at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Simeon registered and listed every man by name who was at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Gad listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Judah listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Issachar listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Zebulun listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Joseph—those from Ephraim—listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Manasseh listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Benjamin listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Dan listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Asher listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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The roster of families and households for the descendants of Naphtali listed the men by name who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty.


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Moses, Aaron, and the 12 leaders of Israel, each representing his own family, added up these totals.


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So the Israelites were registered by households. The grand total of men who were at least 20 years old and eligible for military duty


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Put the Levites in charge of the tent of God's words, including the equipment for the tent and everything else having to do with the tent. The Levites will carry the tent and all its equipment. They will take care of the tent and camp around it.


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When the tent has to be moved, the Levites will take it down. When we camp, they will set it up. Anyone else who comes near the tent will be put to death.


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The Levites will camp all around the tent of God's words. In this way {the Lord} won't be angry with the community of Israel. So the Levites will be in charge of the tent of God's words."


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"The Israelites will put up their tents with each family under the flag that symbolizes its household. They will put their tents around the tent of meeting, facing it.


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"On the east side, facing the rising sun, the armies led by Judah will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Judah is Nahshon, son of Amminadab.


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"Next to them will be the tribe of Issachar. The leader for the people of Issachar is Nethanel, son of Zuar.


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"The grand total of all the troops in Judah's camp is 186,400. They will be the first group to move out.


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"On the south side the armies led by Reuben will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Reuben is Elizur, son of Shedeur.


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"Next to them will be the tribe of Simeon. The leader for the people of Simeon is Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai.


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"The grand total of all the troops in Reuben's camp is 151,450. They will be the second group to move out.


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"When the tent of meeting is moved, the Levites will stay in the middle of the groups. The tribes will move out in the same order as they are in the camp, everyone in place under his own flag.


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"On the west side the armies led by Ephraim will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Ephraim is Elishama, son of Ammihud.


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"Next to them will be the tribe of Manasseh. The leader for the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur.


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"Then {will be} the tribe of Benjamin. The leader for the people of Benjamin is Abidan, son of Gideoni.


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"The grand total of all the troops in Ephraim's camp is 108,100. They will be the third group to move out.


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"On the north side the armies led by Dan will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Dan is Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai.


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"Next to them will be the tribe of Asher. The leader for the people of Asher is Pagiel, son of Ochran.


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"The grand total of all the men in Dan's camp is 157,600. They will be the last group to move out. They will travel under their own flag."


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This is the total number of Israelites, counted by households. The grand total of all the troops in the camps was 603,550.


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So the Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses. They set up camp under their flags, and each person traveled with his own family and household.


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This is the list of Aaron and Moses' descendants at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai.


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Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord's presence because they offered unauthorized fire in his presence in the Desert of Sinai. They had no children. So only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.


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They will work for him and the whole community in front of the tent of meeting, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent.


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They will take care of all the furnishings in the tent of meeting and work for the Israelites, doing what needs to be done for the inner tent.


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Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who tries to do the priests' duties must be put to death."


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"Out of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites to be substitutes for every firstborn male offspring among them. The Levites are mine,


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because every firstborn is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set apart as holy every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They will be mine. I am the Lord."


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Mahli and Mushi were the sons of Merari. Their families were named after them. These were the households of Levite families.


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To Gershon belonged the families descended from Libni and Shimei. These were the families descended from Gershon.


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At the tent of meeting the Gershonites were in charge of the inner tent, the outer tent and cover, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,


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the curtains for the courtyard, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the inner tent and the altar, and the ropes. They took care of all these things.


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To Kohath belonged the families descended from Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. These were the families descended from Kohath.


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The number of all the males at least one month old was 8,600. They were in charge of the holy place.


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They were in charge of the ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, the utensils used in the holy place, and the screen. They took care of all these things.


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The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron. It was Eleazar's duty to supervise those who were in charge of the holy place.


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To Merari belonged the families descended from Mahli and Mushi. These were the families descended from Merari.


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The leader of the Merarite families and households was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They put up their tents on the north side of the tent of meeting.


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It was the duty of the Merarites to be in charge of the framework of the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, sockets, and all the equipment. They took care of all these things.


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Moses, Aaron, and his sons put up their tents on the east side in front of the tent of meeting. They were in charge of the holy place on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who tried to do the Levites' duties had to be put to death.


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The grand total of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted at the Lord's command, by families, every male who was at least one month old, was 22,000.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Register every firstborn male of the Israelites who is at least one month old, and make a list of their names.


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I am the Lord. Take the Levites for me to be substitutes for all firstborn Israelites. Also take the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for all firstborn animals of the Israelites."


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"Take the Levites to be substitutes for all the firstborn Israelites and the animals of the Levites to be substitutes for their animals. The Levites will be mine. I am the Lord.


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It will cost you two ounces of silver per person (using the standard weight of the holy place) to buy them back.


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Give the silver to Aaron and his sons. It will buy back those Israelites who outnumber the Levites."


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The silver Moses collected for the firstborn Israelites weighed 34 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place.


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Then Moses did what the Lord said and gave Aaron and his sons this ransom money as he had been commanded.


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Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to work at the tent of meeting.


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"This is the work the Kohathites will do in the tent of meeting: They will take care of the most holy things.


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When the camp is supposed to move, Aaron and his sons will go in and take down the canopy that hangs over the ark containing the words of God's promise. First they will cover the ark with the canopy.


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Over this they will put a covering of fine leather. On top of that they will spread a cloth made entirely of violet material. Then they will put the poles in place.


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"They will spread a violet cloth over the table of the presence and put on it the plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers for the wine offerings. The bread that is always in the Lord's presence will also be on it.


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They will spread a bright red cloth over everything on the table. They will cover all this with fine leather. Then they will put the poles in place.


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"They will take a violet cloth and cover the lamp stand, as well as the lamps, tongs, trays, and all the containers for the olive oil used in the lamps.


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Then they will put the lamp stand and all its utensils under a covering of fine leather and put them on a frame to carry them.


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"They will spread a violet cloth over the gold altar and cover the cloth with fine leather. Then they will put the poles in place.


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"They will take all the articles that are used in the holy place, put them in a violet cloth, cover that with fine leather, and put them on a frame to carry them.


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Next, they will put all the accessories used at the altar on it. These are the trays, forks, shovels, and bowls—all the altar's accessories. They will spread a covering of fine leather over all this. Then they will put the poles in place.


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"When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy things and the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites will come to carry all the holy articles. They must never touch the holy things, or they will die. The Kohathites will carry all the things from the tent of meeting.


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"Eleazar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of the oil for the lamps, the sweet-smelling incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He is in charge of the whole tent and everything in it, the holy place and its contents."


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This is what you must do so that they won't die when they come near the most holy things: Aaron and his sons will go into the holy place and tell each man what he will do and what he will carry.


text:
Register all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who are qualified to serve at the tent of meeting.


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They will carry the sheets that are part of the inner tent and the tent of meeting. They will also carry the inner cover for the tent of meeting, the outer cover of fine leather that goes over it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,


text:
the curtains for the courtyard around the tent and the altar, the screen for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes, and all the equipment used to set up the curtains. The Gershonites will do everything that needs to be done with these things.


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All their work, whatever they carry and all their duties, will be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You are in charge of telling them everything they're supposed to carry.


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This is the work of the Gershonite families in the tent of meeting. Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of them.


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These are their duties as they work at the tent of meeting: They will carry the framework for the inner tent, the crossbars, posts, and sockets,


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the posts for the surrounding courtyard, the bases, pegs, and ropes. They must take care of all this equipment. Tell each man by name the things he will carry.


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This is what the Merarite families will do as they work at the tent of meeting. Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron, will be in charge of them."


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Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their families and households.


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They registered all the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to work at the tent of meeting.


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This was the total of all those in the Kohathite families who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses and registered the Kohathites.


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All the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to serve at the tent of meeting were registered.


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This was the total of all those in the Gershonite families who worked at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses and registered the Gershonites.


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This was the total of those registered in the Merarite families. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded Moses and registered the Merarites.


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The grand total of all the Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered was 8,580. They were listed by families and households.


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These were the men between the ages of 30 and 50 who were qualified to do the work of serving and who carried the tent of meeting.


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At the Lord's command through Moses each man was registered and told what to do and what to carry. So they were registered as the Lord commanded Moses.


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"Command the Israelites to send outside the camp anyone who has a serious skin disease or a discharge or anyone who is unclean from touching a dead body.


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Send all of these unclean men and women outside the camp. They must not make this camp where I live among you unclean."


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"Tell the Israelites: If you do something wrong to another person, you have been unfaithful to the Lord. When you realize your guilt,


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you must confess your sin, pay in full for what you did wrong, add one-fifth to it, and give it to the person who was wronged.


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But there may be no heir to whom the payment can be made. In that case, the payment for what you did wrong must be given to the Lord for the priest {to use}. This payment is in addition to the ram which makes peace with the Lord.


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"Any contribution over and above the holy offerings that the Israelites bring to the priest will belong to the priest.


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Each person's holy offerings will belong to that person, but whatever is given to the priest will belong to the priest."


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and may have had sexual intercourse with another man without her husband's knowledge. She may have kept it secret if there were no witnesses to accuse her and she wasn't caught in the act.


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"A husband may have a fit of jealousy and suspect his wife, whether she was actually unfaithful or not.


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He must then take his wife to the priest along with eight cups of barley flour as an offering for her. He must not pour olive oil on the flour or put frankincense on it, since it is a grain offering brought because of the husband's jealousy, an offering used for a confession—to remind someone of a sin that was committed.


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Then the priest will take holy water in a piece of pottery and put some dust from the floor of the tent into the water.


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The priest will bring the woman into the Lord's presence and loosen her hair. In her hands he will put the offering used for a confession (that is, the grain offering brought because of the husband's jealousy). The priest will hold in his hands the bitter water that can bring a curse.


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"Then the priest will say to her, 'If no other man has had sexual intercourse with you and you haven't been unfaithful to your husband, you're not guilty. This bitter water that can bring a curse will not harm you.


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may the Lord make you an example for your people to see what happens when the curse of this oath comes true: The Lord will make your uterus drop and your stomach swell.' "Then the priest will administer the oath and the curse by saying:


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'May this water that can bring a curse go into your body and make your stomach swell and your uterus drop!' "Then the woman will say, 'Amen, amen!'


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Then he will have the woman drink the bitter water that can bring the curse. This water will go into her {and} become bitter.


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The priest will take the grain offering she was holding, present it to the Lord, and bring it to the altar.


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The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will have the woman drink the water.


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If she has become unclean by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that can bring the curse will go into her and become bitter. Her stomach will swell, her uterus will drop, and she will become cursed among her people.


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"These are the instructions for how to deal with jealousy. They tell you what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband and becomes unclean.


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They also tell you what to do when a husband has a fit of jealousy and is suspicious of his wife. He will make his wife stand in the Lord's presence, and the priest will do everything these instructions tell him to do.


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The husband isn't guilty of doing anything wrong, but the woman will suffer the consequences of her sin."


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"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: A man or a woman may make a special vow to live as a Nazirite dedicated to the Lord.


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Nazirites must never drink wine, liquor, vinegar made from wine or liquor, or any kind of grape juice, and they must never eat fresh grapes or raisins.


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As long as they are Nazirites, they must never eat anything that comes from a grapevine, not even grape seeds or skins.


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"As long as they are under the Nazirite vow, no razor may touch their heads. During the entire time that they are dedicated to the Lord as Nazirites, they will be holy. They must let their hair grow long.


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Even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister dies, they must not make themselves unclean by going near them. Nazarites show their vow to God with their long hair.


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"Someone might suddenly drop dead next to a Nazirite and make the Nazirite's hair unclean. Seven days later he must shave his head in order to be declared clean.


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On the eighth day he must bring two mourning doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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The priest will sacrifice one as an offering for sin and the other one as a burnt offering. The priest will make peace with the Lord for the person who touched the dead body. That same day the person must dedicate his head again.


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Once again he will dedicate himself to the Lord as a Nazirite for the same length of time as before. He must bring a one-year-old male lamb as an offering for guilt. The first time period won't count. He has to start over from when he became unclean.


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"These are the instructions for Nazirites who complete their vows: They must come to the entrance of the tent of meeting.


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They must bring these offerings to the Lord: a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, a one-year-old female lamb as an offering for sin, and a ram as a fellowship offering. All of these animals must have no defects.


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They must also bring a basket of unleavened bread containing some rings of bread made with olive oil and wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, along with other grain offerings and wine offerings.


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"The priest will bring these offerings to the Lord and make the offering for sin and the burnt offering.


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He will sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, offer the basket of unleavened bread along with it, and make the grain offerings and wine offerings.


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"Then the Nazirites will shave their heads at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair as proof that they had made this vow, and put it on the fire under the fellowship offering.


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"Then the priest will take one of the shoulders from a boiled ram, one ring of unleavened bread from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread and hand them to the Nazirites after they have shaved off their hair.


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The priest will present them as an offering to the Lord. They are holy and belong to the priest, along with the ram's breast that is presented and the thigh that is given. After that, the Nazirites may drink wine.


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"These are the instructions for those who have vowed to bring their offerings to the Lord because they were Nazirites. They must bring these offerings in addition to anything else they can afford. They must fulfill the requirements of these instructions for Nazirites and finish whatever they vowed to do."


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When Moses finished setting up the tent, he anointed it and dedicated it and all the furnishings. He also anointed and dedicated the altar and all the utensils.


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Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of the households—those tribal leaders who helped in the census—came to give their offerings.


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They brought these gifts to the Lord: six freight wagons and twelve oxen, one wagon from every two leaders and one ox from each leader. They brought them in front of the tent.


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"Accept these gifts from them to use in the work done for the tent of meeting. Give them to the Levites to use wherever they need these gifts for their work."


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He gave four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarites for the work they had to do under the direction of Ithamar, son of the priest Aaron.


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But Moses gave none of these gifts to the Kohathites, because they took care of the holy things. They had to carry the holy things on their own shoulders.


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The leaders also brought offerings for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed. They presented their gifts in front of the altar.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Each day a different leader will bring his gift for the dedication of the altar."


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The one who brought his gifts on the first day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.


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He brought a silver plate that weighed 3 1/4 pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1 3/4 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Nahshon, son of Amminadab.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Nethanel, son of Zuar.


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brought his gifts: a silver plate that weighed 3 1/4 pounds and a silver bowl that weighed 1 3/4 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place. Each dish was filled with flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Eliab, son of Helon.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Elizur, son of Shedeur.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Eliasaph, son of Deuel.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Elishama, son of Ammihud.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Abidan, son of Gideoni.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Ahiezer, son of Amishaddai.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Pagiel, son of Ochran.


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and two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. These were the gifts from Ahira, son of Enan.


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These were the gifts from the leaders of Israel for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: 12 silver plates, 12 silver bowls, and 12 gold dishes.


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Each silver plate weighed 3 1/4 pounds, and each bowl weighed 1 3/4 pounds. Together all the silver dishes weighed 60 pounds using the standard weight of the holy place.


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The 12 gold dishes filled with incense weighed 4 ounces each using the standard weight of the holy place. Together all the gold dishes weighed about 3 pounds.


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The total number of animals for the burnt offerings was 12 young bulls, 12 rams, 12 one-year-old male lambs, along with their grain offerings. Twelve male goats were used as offerings for sin.


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The total number of animals for fellowship offerings was 24 bulls, 60 rams, 60 male goats, and 60 one-year-old male lambs. These were the gifts for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.


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Whenever Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the throne of mercy on the ark containing the words of God's promise, from between the two angels. This is how the Lord spoke with Moses.


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"Speak to Aaron and tell him: When you set up the seven lamps on the lamp stand, they should light up the area in front of it."


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So Aaron set up the lamps on the lamp stand to light up the area in front of it, as the Lord commanded Moses.


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This is how the lamp stand was made: The whole lamp stand, from top to bottom, was hammered out of gold. It was made exactly like the one the Lord had shown Moses.


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This is what you must do to make them clean: Sprinkle them with water to take away their sins. Make them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. Then they will be clean.


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Next, they must take a young bull and the grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil that is offered with it. You must take a second young bull as an offering for sin.


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Aaron will present the Levites to the Lord as an offering from the Israelites. Then they will be ready to do the Lord's work.


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"The Levites will place their hands on the heads of the young bulls. Sacrifice one of them as an offering for sin and the other one as a burnt offering to the Lord. These sacrifices will make peace with the Lord for the Levites.


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"Once you have made them clean and presented them as an offering, the Levites may come and do their work at the tent of meeting.


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They will be the only Israelites given to me. I have taken them to be mine as substitutes for every firstborn male offspring of the Israelites.


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Every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set them apart as holy to me.


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The Levites will be the only Israelites I give to Aaron and his sons. They will work for the Israelites at the tent of meeting. They will make peace with the Lord for the Israelites. Then no plague will strike the Israelites when they come near the holy place."


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Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel did what the Lord commanded Moses to do to the Levites.


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The Levites performed the ceremonies to take away their sins and washed their clothes. Aaron presented them as an offering to the Lord and made peace with the Lord for them in order to make them clean.


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After that, the Levites came and did their work at the tent of meeting in the presence of Aaron and his sons. They did as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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"These are the instructions for the Levites: Men 25 years old or older are eligible to serve at the tent of meeting.


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They may assist the other Levites in their duties at the tent of meeting, but they may not do any regular work. This is how you will handle the Levites' duties."


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In the first month of the second year after the Israelites left Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. He said,


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You must celebrate it on the fourteenth day of this month at dusk. Follow all the rules and regulations for the celebration of the Passover."


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and they celebrated it on the fourteenth day of the first month at dusk while they were in the Desert of Sinai. The Israelites did everything as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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But there were some men who had become unclean from touching a dead body, and they couldn't celebrate the Passover that day. They came to Moses and Aaron


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and said, "We are unclean because we touched a dead body. Why won't you let us bring our offerings to the Lord at the same time the rest of the Israelites bring their offerings?"


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Suppose you or any of your descendants is unclean from touching a dead body or is away on a long trip. You may still celebrate the Passover.


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You will celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at dusk. You must eat the Passover animal along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.


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You must never leave any of the meat until morning or break any of the animal's bones. You must follow all the rules for the Passover when you celebrate it.


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But if you are clean and not on a trip and yet don't bother to celebrate the Passover, you must be excluded from the people. You didn't bring your offering to the Lord at the right time. You must suffer the consequences for your sin.


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"Foreigners living with you may want to celebrate the Lord's Passover. They must follow these same rules and regulations. The same rules will apply to foreigners and native-born Israelites."


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On the day the tent of the words of God's promise was set up, the {column of} smoke covered it. From evening until morning, the smoke over the tent glowed like fire.


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Whenever the smoke moved from the tent, the Israelites would break camp, and wherever it stopped, the Israelites would set up camp.


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At the Lord's command the Israelites would break camp, and at his command they would set up camp. As long as the {column of} smoke stayed over the tent, they would stay in the same place.


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When the smoke stayed over the tent for a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord's command and wouldn't break camp.


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The same thing happened when the smoke stayed only a few days over the tent: At the Lord's command they would set up camp, and at his command they would break camp.


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Sometimes the {column of} smoke stayed only from evening until morning. When the smoke moved in the morning, they broke camp. Day or night, when the smoke moved, they broke camp.


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Whether it was two days, a month, or a year, as long as the {column of} smoke stayed over the tent, the Israelites would stay in the same place and not break camp. But when the smoke moved, they would break camp.


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At the Lord's command they set up camp, and at his command they broke camp. They obeyed the command that the Lord had given through Moses.


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"Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Use them to call the community together and as a signal to break camp.


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When you blow both trumpets, the whole community will meet with you at the entrance to the tent of meeting.


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When they hear the trumpet fanfare, the tribes that are camped on the east side will break camp first.


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When the trumpets sound a second fanfare, the tribes that are camped on the south will break camp. The fanfare is the signal to break camp.


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The sons of Aaron, the priests, will blow the trumpets. This will be a permanent law for you and your descendants.


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"When you go to war in your own country against an enemy who is oppressing you, the trumpets will sound a fanfare. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies.


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Also, on your festival days and on the first day of the month, blow the trumpets when you sacrifice your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The trumpets will be a reminder for you in God's presence. I am the Lord your God."


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On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the {column of} smoke left the tent of the words of God's promise.


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So the Israelites moved from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the {column of} smoke stopped in the Desert of Paran.


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With their flag in front, the armies led by Judah's descendants broke camp first. Nahshon, son of Amminadab, was in command.


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Then the tent {of meeting} was taken down, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who carried it, broke camp.


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With their flag in front, the armies led by Reuben's descendants broke camp next. Elizur, son of Shedeur, was in command.


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Then the Kohathites, who carried the holy things, broke camp. By the time they arrived, the tent {of meeting} would already be set up.


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With their flag in front, the armies led by Ephraim's descendants broke camp next. Elisha, son of Ammihud, was in command.


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As a rear guard for the whole camp, the armies led by Dan's descendants broke camp last with their flag in front. Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, was in command.


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Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab, son of Reuel the Midianite, "We are going to the place the Lord promised to give us. Come with us. We will be good to you, because the Lord has promised good things to Israel."


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But Moses said, "Please don't leave us. You know where we can set up camp in the desert, and you could be our guide.


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So they left the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the Lord's promise went ahead of them a distance of three days' journey to find them a place to rest.


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Whenever the ark started to move, Moses would say, "Arise, O Lord! Scatter your enemies! Make those who hate you run away from you!"


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The people began complaining out loud to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry, and fire from the Lord began to burn among them. It destroyed some people on the outskirts of the camp.


