הֵ֫מָּה

…and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.

Anything upon which one of their carcasses falls will be unclean. If it is an oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.

Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable.

He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them.

For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD.

They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.’

They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the food offerings, the food of their God, they must be holy.

“Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.

But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food.

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.

For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

For the land will be abandoned by them, and it will enjoy its Sabbaths by lying desolate without them. And they will pay the penalty for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and abhorred My statutes.

These men were appointed from the congregation; they were the leaders of the tribes of their fathers, the heads of the clans of Israel.

Instead, you are to appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, all its furnishings, and everything in it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its articles, care for it, and camp around it.

Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the Israelites.

And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families.

From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan; these were the Gershonite clans.

From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.

From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.

“Take a census of the Gershonites as well, by their families and clans,

And the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, presented an offering. These men were the tribal leaders who had supervised the registration.

For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.

…and said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.

Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.

So at the command of the LORD, Moses sent them out from the Wilderness of Paran. All the men were leaders of the Israelites,

Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”

“How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me.

Of those men who had gone to spy out the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh remained alive.

The priest is to make atonement for the whole congregation of Israel, so that they may be forgiven; for the sin was unintentional and they have brought to the LORD a food offering and a sin offering, presented before the LORD for their unintentional sin.

Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”

And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron.

They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly.

The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”

And they shall attend to your duties and to all the duties of the Tent; but they must not come near to the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.

But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to splatter their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.

The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites.

These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD, and He showed His holiness among them.

Just then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

…for when the congregation contended in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight regarding the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin.

And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.

Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.

…until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to the possession I have given you.”