Numbers 26:51-28:15

Contemporary English Version

⁵¹ The total number of Israelite men listed was 601,730.

^52 (A) The Lord said to Moses, ⁵³ “Divide the land of Canaan among these tribes, according to the number of people in each one, ⁵⁴ so the larger tribes have more land than the smaller ones. ^55-56 I will show you^[a] what land to give each tribe, and they will receive as much land as they need, according to the number of people in it.”

⁵⁷ The tribe of Levi included the clans of the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, ⁵⁸ as well as the clans of Libni, Hebron, Mahli, Mushi, and Korah. Kohath the Levite was the father of Amram, ⁵⁹ the husband of Levi's daughter Jochebed, who was born in Egypt. Amram and Jochebed's three children were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. ^60 (B) Aaron was the father of Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ^61 (C) But Nadab and Abihu had died when they offered fire that was unacceptable to the Lord.^[b]

⁶² In the tribe of Levi there were 23,000 men and boys at least a month old. They were not listed with the other tribes, because they would not receive any land in Canaan.

⁶³ Moses and Eleazar counted the Israelites while they were camped in the hills of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho. ⁶⁴ None of the people that Moses and Aaron had counted in the Sinai Desert were still alive, ^65 (D) except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. The Lord had said that everyone else would die there in the desert.^[c]

The Daughters of Zelophehad Are Given Land

27 Zelophehad^[d] was from the Manasseh tribe, and he had five daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

² One day his daughters went to the sacred tent, where they met with Moses, Eleazar, and some other leaders of Israel, as well as a large crowd of Israelites. The young women said:

³ You know that our father died in the desert. But it was for something he did wrong, not for joining with Korah in rebelling against the Lord.

Our father left no sons ⁴ to carry on his family name. But why should his name die out for that reason? Give us some land like the rest of his relatives in our clan, so our father's name can live on.

⁵ Moses asked the Lord what should be done, ⁶ and the Lord answered:

^7 (E) Zelophehad's daughters are right. They should each be given part of the land their father would have received.

⁸ Tell the Israelites that when a man dies without a son, his daughter will inherit his land. ⁹ If he has no daughter, his brothers will inherit the land. ¹⁰ But if he has no brothers, his father's brothers will inherit the land. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, the land must be given to his nearest relative in the clan. This is my law, and the Israelites must obey it.

Joshua Is Appointed Israel's Leader

(Deuteronomy 31.1-8)

^12 (F) The Lord said to Moses, “One day you will go up into the Abarim Mountains, and from there you will see the land I am giving the Israelites. ¹³ After you have seen it, you will die,^[e] just like your brother Aaron, ¹⁴ because both of you disobeyed me at Meribah near the town of Kadesh in the Zin Desert. When the Israelites insulted me there, you didn't believe in my holy power.”^[f]

¹⁵ Moses replied, ¹⁶ “You are the Lord God, and you know what is in everyone's heart. So I ask you to appoint a leader for Israel. ^17 (G) Your people need someone to lead them into battle, or else they will be like sheep wandering around without a shepherd.”

^18 (H) The Lord answered, “Joshua son of Nun can do the job. Place your hands on him to show that he is the one to take your place. ¹⁹ Then go with him and tell him to stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the Israelites. Appoint Joshua as their new leader ²⁰ and tell them they must now obey him, just as they obey you. ^21 (I) But Joshua must depend on Eleazar to find out from me^[g] what I want him to do as he leads Israel into battle.”

²² Moses followed the Lord's instructions and took Joshua to Eleazar and the people, ^23 (J) then he placed his hands on Joshua and appointed him Israel's leader.

Regular Daily Sacrifices

(Exodus 29.38-43; Leviticus 6.8-13)

28 The Lord told Moses ² to say to the people of Israel:

Offer sacrifices to me at the appointed times of worship, so that I will smell the smoke and be pleased.

³ Each day offer two rams a year old as sacrifices to please me.^[h] The animals must have nothing wrong with them; ⁴ one will be sacrificed in the morning, and the other in the evening. ⁵ Along with each of them, one kilogram of your finest flour mixed with a liter of olive oil must be offered as a grain sacrifice. ⁶ This sacrifice to please me was first offered at Mount Sinai. ⁷ Finally, along with each of these two sacrifices, a liter of wine must be poured on the altar as a drink offering. ⁸ The second ram will be sacrificed that evening, along with the other offerings, just like the one sacrificed that morning. The smell of the smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

The Sacrifice on the Sabbath

The Lord said:

^9-10 On the Sabbath, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices,^[i] you must sacrifice two rams a year old to please me.^[j] These rams must have nothing wrong with them, and they will be sacrificed with a drink offering and two kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil.

The Sacrifices on the First Day of the Month

The Lord said:

¹¹ On the first day of each month, bring to the altar two bulls, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.^{[k] 12} Three kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Two kilograms of flour mixed with oil must be offered with the ram, ¹³ and one kilogram of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. The smell of the smoke from these sacrifices will please me.

^14-15 Offer two liters of wine as a drink offering with each bull, one and a half liters with the ram, and one liter with each of the young rams.

Finally, you must offer a goat^[l] as a sacrifice for sin.

These sacrifices are to be offered on the first day of each month, in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.^[m]