Bible Reading Plan – Day 47

₁The following account gives the names of the places where the Israelites set up camp after they left Egypt in their tribes under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. ₂At the command of the LORD, Moses wrote down the name of the place each time they set up camp.

₃The people of Israel left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month of the year, the day after the first Passover. Under the LORD's protection they left the city of Rameses in full view of the Egyptians, ₄who were burying the firstborn sons that the LORD had killed. By doing this, the LORD showed that he was more powerful than the gods of Egypt.

₅The people of Israel left Rameses and set up camp at Sukkoth. ₆Their next camp was at Etham on the edge of the desert. ₇From there they turned back to Pi Hahiroth, east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol. ₈They left Pi Hahiroth and passed through the Red Sea into the desert of Shur; after a three days' march they camped at Marah. ₉From there they went to Elim, where they camped, because there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees there.

₁₀They left Elim and camped near the Gulf of Suez. ₁₁Their next camp was in the desert of Sin. ₁₂Then they camped at Dophkah, ₁₃and after that at Alush. ₁₄Next was Rephidim, where there was no water for them to drink.

_15-37From Rephidim to Mount Hor they set up camp at the following places: the Sinai Desert, Kibroth Hattaavah (or “Graves of Craving”), Hazeroth, Rithmah, Rimmon Perez, Libnah, Rissah, Kehelathah, Mount Shepher, Haradah, Makheloth, Tahath, Terah, Mithkah, Hashmonah, Moseroth, Bene Jaakan, Hor Haggidgad, Jotbathah, Abronah, Eziongeber, the wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh), and Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

_38-39At the command of the LORD, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor. At the age of 123 he died there on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites had left Egypt.

₄₀The king of Arad in southern Canaan heard that the Israelites were coming.

_41-49From Mount Hor to the plains of Moab the Israelites set up camp at the following places: Zalmonah, Punon, Oboth, the ruins of Abarim in the territory of Moab, Dibon Gad, Almon Diblathaim, the Abarim Mountains near Mount Nebo, and in the plains of Moab across the River Jordan from Jericho, between Beth Jeshimoth and the Valley of Acacia.

₅₀There in the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho the LORD gave Moses ₅₁the following instructions for Israel: “When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ₅₂you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land. Destroy all their stone and metal idols and all their places of worship. ₅₃Occupy the land and settle in it, because I am giving it to you. ₅₄Divide the land among the various tribes and clans by drawing lots, giving a large piece of property to a large clan and a small one to a small clan. ₅₅But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those that are left will be as troublesome as splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will fight against you. ₅₆If you do not drive them out, I will destroy you, as I planned to destroy them.”

₁The LORD gave Moses ₂the following instructions for the people of Israel: “When you enter Canaan, the land which I am giving you, the borders of your territory will be as follows. ₃The southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. It will begin on the east at the southern end of the Dead Sea. ₄Then it will turn southwards towards Akrabbim Pass and continue on through Zin as far south as Kadesh Barnea. Then it will turn north-west to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon, ₅where it will turn towards the valley at the border of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean.

₆“The western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.

₇“The northern border will follow a line from the Mediterranean to Mount Hor ₈and from there to Hamath Pass. It will continue to Zedad ₉and to Ziphron, and will end at Hazar Enan.

₁₀“The eastern border will follow a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. ₁₁It will then go south to Harbel, east of Ain, and on to the hills on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee, ₁₂then south along the River Jordan to the Dead Sea.

“These will be the four borders of your land.”

₁₃So Moses said to the Israelites, “This is the land that you will receive by drawing lots, the land that the LORD has assigned to the nine and a half tribes. ₁₄The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of Manasseh have received their property, divided according to their families, ₁₅on the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”

₁₆The LORD said to Moses, ₁₇“Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun will divide the land for the people. ₁₈Take also one leader from each tribe to help them divide it.” _19-28These are the men the LORD chose:

₂₉These are the men that the LORD assigned to divide the property for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

₁In the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho the LORD said to Moses, ₂“Tell the Israelites that from the property they receive they must give the Levites some cities to live in and pasture land round the cities. ₃These cities will belong to the Levites, and they will live there. The pasture land will be for their cattle and all their other animals. ₄The pasture land is to extend outwards from the city walls 450 metres in each direction, ₅so that there is a square area measuring 900 metres on each side, with the city in the middle. ₆You are to give the Levites six cities of refuge to which a man can escape if he kills someone accidentally. In addition, give them 42 other cities ₇with their pasture land, making a total of 48. ₈The number of Levite cities in each tribe is to be determined according to the size of its territory.”

₉The LORD told Moses ₁₀to say to the people of Israel: “When you cross the River Jordan and enter the land of Canaan, ₁₁you are to choose cities of refuge to which a man can escape if he kills someone accidentally. ₁₂There he will be safe from the dead person's relative who seeks revenge. No one accused of manslaughter is to be put to death without a public trial. ₁₃Choose six cities, ₁₄three east of the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. ₁₅These will serve as cities of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners who are temporary or permanent residents. Anyone who kills someone accidentally can escape to one of them.

_16-18“If, however, anyone uses a weapon of iron or stone or wood to kill someone, he is guilty of murder and is to be put to death. ₁₉The dead person's nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds him, he is to kill him.

₂₀“If anyone hates someone and kills him by pushing him down or by throwing something at him ₂₁or by striking him with his fist, he is guilty of murder and is to be put to death. The dead man's nearest relative has the responsibility for putting the murderer to death. When he finds him, he is to kill him.

₂₂“But suppose anyone accidentally kills someone he does not hate, whether by pushing him down or by throwing something at him. ₂₃Or suppose that, without looking, anyone throws a stone that kills someone whom he did not intend to hurt and who was not his enemy. ₂₄In such cases the community shall judge in favour of the one who caused the death and not in favour of the dead person's relative who is seeking revenge. ₂₅The community is to rescue the one guilty of manslaughter from the dead person's relative, and they are to return him to the city of refuge to which he had escaped. He must live there until the death of the man who is then High Priest. ₂₆If the one guilty of manslaughter leaves the city of refuge to which he has escaped ₂₇and if the dead person's relative finds him and kills him, this act of revenge is not murder. ₂₈The person guilty of manslaughter must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest, but after that he may return home. ₂₉These rules apply to you and your descendants wherever you may live.

₃₀“Anyone accused of murder may be found guilty and put to death only on the evidence of two or more witnesses; the evidence of one witness is not sufficient to support an accusation of murder. ₃₁A murderer must be put to death. He cannot escape this penalty by the payment of money. ₃₂If someone has fled to a city of refuge, do not allow him to make a payment in order to return home before the death of the High Priest. ₃₃If you did this, you would defile the land where you are living. Murder defiles the land, and except by the death of the murderer there is no way to perform the ritual of purification for the land where someone has been murdered. ₃₄Do not defile the land where you are living, because I am the LORD and I live among the people of Israel.”

₁The heads of the families in the clan of Gilead, the son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh son of Joseph, went to Moses and the other leaders. ₂They said, “The LORD commanded you to distribute the land to the people of Israel by drawing lots. He also commanded you to give the property of our relative Zelophehad to his daughters. ₃But remember, if they marry men of another tribe, their property will then belong to that tribe, and the total allotted to us will be reduced. ₄In the Year of Restoration, when all property that has been sold is restored to its original owners, the property of Zelophehad's daughters will be permanently added to the tribe into which they marry and will be lost to our tribe.”

₅So Moses gave the people of Israel the following command from the LORD. He said, “What the tribe of Manasseh says is right, ₆and so the LORD says that the daughters of Zelophehad are free to marry anyone they wish but only within their own tribe. ₇The property of every Israelite will remain attached to his tribe. ₈Every woman who inherits property in an Israelite tribe must marry a man belonging to that tribe. In this way all Israelites will inherit the property of their ancestors, ₉and the property will not pass from one tribe to another. Each tribe will continue to possess its own property.”

_10-11So Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they married their cousins. ₁₂They married within the clans of the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their property remained in their father's tribe.

₁₃These are the rules and regulations that the LORD gave the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab across the River Jordan from Jericho.