Bible Reading Plan – Day 38

₁The LORD told Moses ₂to take a census of the Levite clan of Kohath by sub-clans and families, ₃and to register all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the LORD's presence. ₄Their service involves the most holy things.

₅The LORD gave Moses the following instructions. When it is time to break camp, Aaron and his sons shall enter the Tent, take down the curtain in front of the Covenant Box, and cover the Box with it. ₆They shall put a fine leather cover over it, spread a blue cloth on top, and then insert the carrying poles.

₇They shall spread a blue cloth over the table for the bread offered to the LORD and put on it the dishes, the incense bowls, the offering bowls, and the jars for the wine offering. There shall always be bread on the table. ₈They shall spread a red cloth over all this, put a fine leather cover over it, and then insert the carrying poles.

₉They shall take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand, with its lamps, tongs, trays, and all the olive oil containers. ₁₀They shall wrap it and all its equipment in a fine leather cover and place it on a carrying frame.

₁₁Next they shall spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, put a fine leather cover over it, and then insert the carrying poles. ₁₂They shall take all the utensils used in the Holy Place, wrap them in a blue cloth, put a fine leather cover over them, and place them on a carrying frame. ₁₃They shall remove the greasy ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it. ₁₄They shall put on it all the equipment used in the service at the altar: firepans, hooks, shovels, and basins. Then they shall put a fine leather cover over it and insert the carrying poles. ₁₅When it is time to break camp, the clan of Kohath shall come to carry the sacred objects only after Aaron and his sons have finished covering them and all their equipment. The clan of Kohath must not touch the sacred objects, or they will die.

These are the responsibilities of the clan of Kohath whenever the Tent is moved.

₁₆Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall be responsible for the whole Tent and for the oil for the lamps, the incense, the grain offerings, the anointing oil, and everything else in the Tent that has been consecrated to the LORD.

₁₇The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ₁₈“Do not let the clan of Kohath ₁₉be killed by coming near these most sacred objects. To prevent this happening, Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each man his task and tell him what to carry. ₂₀But if the Kohathites enter the Tent and see the priests preparing the sacred objects for moving, they will die.”

₂₁The LORD told Moses ₂₂to take a census of the Levite clan of Gershon by sub-clans and families, ₂₃and to register all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the LORD's presence. ₂₄They shall be responsible for carrying the following objects: ₂₅the Tent, its inner cover, its outer cover, the fine leather cover on top of it, the curtain for the entrance, ₂₆the curtains and ropes for the court that is round the Tent and the altar, the curtains for the entrance of the court, and all the fittings used in setting up these objects. They shall perform all the tasks required for these things. ₂₇Moses and Aaron shall see to it that the Gershonites perform all the duties and carry everything that Aaron and his sons assign to them. ₂₈These are the responsibilities of the Gershon clan in the Tent; they shall carry them out under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

₂₉The LORD told Moses to take a census of the Levite clan of Merari by sub-clans and families, ₃₀and to register all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the LORD's presence. ₃₁They shall be responsible for carrying the frames, bars, posts, and bases of the Tent, ₃₂and the posts, bases, pegs, and ropes of the court round the Tent, with all the fittings used in setting them up. Each man will be responsible for carrying specific items. ₃₃These are the responsibilities of the Merari clan in their service in the Tent: they shall carry them out under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

_34-48Following the LORD's command, Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community took a census of the three Levite clans, Kohath, Gershon, and Merari. They did this by sub-clans and families and registered all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who were qualified to work in the Tent of the LORD's presence, as follows:

₁The LORD said to Moses, ₂“Command the people of Israel to expel from the camp everyone with a dreaded skin disease or a bodily discharge and everyone who is unclean by contact with a corpse. ₃Send all these ritually unclean people out, so that they will not defile the camp, where I live among my people.” ₄The Israelites obeyed and expelled them all from the camp.

₅The LORD gave Moses ₆the following instructions for the people of Israel. When anyone is unfaithful to the LORD and commits a wrong against someone, ₇he must confess his sin and make full repayment, plus an additional twenty per cent, to the person he has wronged. ₈But if that person has died and has no near relative to whom payment can be made, it shall be given to the LORD for the priest. This payment is in addition to the ram used to perform the ritual of purification for the guilty person. ₉Also every special contribution which the Israelites offer to the LORD belongs to the priest to whom they present it. ₁₀Each priest shall keep the offerings presented to him.

₁₁The LORD commanded Moses _12-14to give the Israelites the following instructions. It may happen that a man becomes suspicious that his wife is unfaithful to him and has defiled herself by having intercourse with another man. But the husband may not be certain, for his wife may have kept it secret — there was no witness, and she was not caught in the act. Or it may happen that a husband becomes suspicious of his wife, even though she has not been unfaithful. ₁₅In either case the man shall take his wife to the priest. He shall also take the required offering of one kilogramme of barley flour, but he shall not pour any olive oil on it or put any incense on it, because it is an offering from a suspicious husband, made to bring the truth to light.

₁₆The priest shall bring the woman forward and make her stand in front of the altar. ₁₇He shall pour some holy water into a clay bowl and take some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tent of the LORD's presence and put it in the water to make it bitter. ₁₈Then he shall loosen the woman's hair and put the offering of flour in her hands. In his hands the priest shall hold the bowl containing the bitter water that brings a curse. ₁₉Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: “If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings. ₂₀But if you have committed adultery, ₂₁may the LORD make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up. ₂₂May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink.”

The woman shall respond, “I agree; may the LORD do so.”

₂₃Then the priest shall write this curse down and wash the writing off into the bowl of bitter water. ₂₄Before he makes the woman drink the water, which may then cause her bitter pain, ₂₅the priest shall take the offering of flour out of the woman's hands, hold it out in dedication to the LORD, and present it on the altar. ₂₆Then he shall take a handful of it as a token offering and burn it on the altar. Finally, he shall make the woman drink the water. ₂₇If she has committed adultery, the water will cause bitter pain; her stomach will swell up and her genital organs will shrink. Her name will become a curse among her people. ₂₈But if she is innocent, she will not be harmed and will be able to bear children.

_29-30This is the law in cases where a man is jealous and becomes suspicious that his wife has committed adultery. The woman shall be made to stand in front of the altar, and the priest shall perform this ritual. ₃₁The husband shall be free of guilt, but the woman, if guilty, must suffer the consequences.

₁The LORD commanded Moses ₂to give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Any men or women who make a special vow to become Nazirites and dedicate themselves to the LORD ₃shall abstain from wine and beer. They shall not drink any kind of drink made from grapes or eat any grapes or raisins. ₄As long as they are Nazirites, they shall not eat anything that comes from a grapevine, not even the seeds or skins of grapes.

₅As long as they are under the Nazirite vow, they must not cut their hair or shave. They are bound by the vow for the full time that they are dedicated to the LORD, and they shall let their hair grow. _6-7Their hair is the sign of their dedication to God, and so they must not defile themselves by going near a corpse, not even that of their father, mother, brother, or sister. ₈As long as they are Nazirites, they are consecrated to the LORD.

₉If the consecrated hair of a Nazirite is defiled because he or she is right beside someone who suddenly dies, they must wait seven days and then shave off their hair; and so they become ritually clean. ₁₀On the eighth day they shall bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence. ₁₁The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, to perform the ritual of purification for them because of their contact with a corpse. On the same day they shall reconsecrate their hair ₁₂and rededicate to the LORD their time as Nazirites. The previous period of time doesn't count, because their consecrated hair was defiled. As a repayment offering they shall bring a one-year-old lamb.

₁₃When Nazirites complete their vows, they shall perform this ritual. They shall go to the entrance of the Tent ₁₄and present to the LORD three animals without any defects: a one-year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, a one-year-old ewe lamb for a sin offering, and a ram for a fellowship offering. ₁₅They shall also offer a basket of bread made without yeast: thick loaves made of flour mixed with olive oil and biscuits brushed with olive oil, and in addition the required offerings of corn and wine.

₁₆The priest shall present all these to the LORD and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering. ₁₇He shall sacrifice the ram to the LORD as a fellowship offering, and offer it with the basket of bread; he shall also present the offerings of corn and wine. ₁₈At the entrance of the Tent the Nazirite shall shave off his or her hair and put it on the fire on which the fellowship offering is being burnt.

₁₉Then, when the shoulder of the ram is boiled, the priest shall take it and put it, together with one thick loaf of bread and one biscuit from the basket, into the hands of the Nazirite. ₂₀Next, the priest shall present them as a special gift to the LORD; they are a sacred offering for the priest, in addition to the breast and the leg of the ram which by law belong to the priest. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.

₂₁These are the regulations for Nazirites; but if a Nazirite promises an offering beyond what his or her vow requires them to give, they must fulfil exactly the promise they made.

₂₂The LORD commanded Moses ₂₃to tell Aaron and his sons to use the following words in blessing the people of Israel:

₂₇And the LORD said, “If they pronounce my name as a blessing upon the people of Israel, I will bless them.”