Beha'alotchaWhen you set up

1Reading 1 Numbers 8:1–14Chapter page with footnotes →

The Lampstand

^8:1And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ²"Speak to Aaron, and say to him: When you set up the lamps, toward the front of the lampstand the seven lamps shall give light."

³And Aaron did so; toward the front of the lampstand he set up its lamps, as the LORD commanded Moses.

⁴And this was the work of the lampstand: beaten work of gold; from its base to its flower it was beaten work; according to the appearance which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand.

Cleansing the Levites

⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶"Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. ⁷And thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them water of purification, and let them pass a razor over all their flesh, and they shall wash their clothes and cleanse themselves.

⁸And let them take a young bull, son of the herd, and its grain-offering, fine flour mingled with oil; and a second young bull, son of the herd, you shall take for a sin-offering. ⁹And you shall bring the Levites near before the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), and you shall assemble all the congregation of the children of Israel. ¹⁰And you shall bring the Levites near before the LORD, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites. ¹¹And Aaron shall wave the Levites as a wave-offering before the LORD from the children of Israel, that they may be to serve the service of the LORD. ¹²And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the head of the bulls; and make the one a sin-offering and the other a burnt-offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites.

¹³And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and wave them as a wave-offering to the LORD. ¹⁴And you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine.

2Reading 2 Numbers 8:15–26Chapter page with footnotes →

^8:15And after that the Levites shall go in to serve the tent of appointed time (mo-ed); and you shall cleanse them and wave them as a wave-offering.

¹⁶For they are wholly given to Me from among the children of Israel; instead of the opening of every womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them to Me. ¹⁷For Mine is every firstborn among the children of Israel, among man and among beast; in the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. ¹⁸And I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the children of Israel. ¹⁹And I have given the Levites as given ones to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to serve the service of the children of Israel in the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come near to the holy place."

²⁰And Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel did to the Levites according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites; so did the children of Israel to them. ²¹And the Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes; and Aaron waved them as a wave-offering before the LORD, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. ²²And after that the Levites went in to serve their service in the tent of appointed time (mo-ed) before Aaron and before his sons; as the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Retirement for Levites

²³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ²⁴"This is what pertains to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward he shall come to wage the warfare in the service of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed); ²⁵and from fifty years old he shall return from the warfare of the service, and shall serve no more;

²⁶but he shall minister with his brothers in the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), to keep the charge, but service he shall not serve. Thus you shall do to the Levites concerning their charges."

3Reading 3 Numbers 9:1–14Chapter page with footnotes →

The Second Passover

^9:1And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the second year of their going out from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying: ²"And let the children of Israel make the Passover in its appointed time (mo-ed). ³On the fourteenth day in this month, between the evenings, you shall make it in its appointed time (mo-ed); according to all its statutes and according to all its judgments you shall make it."

⁴And Moses spoke to the children of Israel to make the Passover. ⁵And they made the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the evenings, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

⁶And there were men who were unclean by the soul of a man, so that they could not make the Passover on that day; and they came near before Moses and before Aaron on that day. ⁷And those men said to him: "We are unclean by the soul of a man; why should we be kept back so as not to bring near the offering of the LORD in its appointed time (mo-ed) among the children of Israel?"

⁸And Moses said to them: "Stand, and let me hear what the LORD will command concerning you."

⁹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁰"Speak to the children of Israel, saying: Any man, any man of you or of your generations who shall be unclean by a soul or on a journey afar off, yet he shall make a Passover to the LORD. ¹¹In the second month, on the fourteenth day, between the evenings, they shall make it; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ¹²They shall not leave any of it until the morning, nor break a bone in it; according to all the statute of the Passover they shall make it.

¹³But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and forbears to make the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his peoples; because he did not bring near the offering of the LORD in its appointed time (mo-ed), that man shall bear his sin.

¹⁴And if a sojourner sojourns with you and will make a Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its judgment, so shall he do; one statute shall be for you, both for the sojourner and for the native of the land."

4Reading 4 Numbers 9:15–10:10Chapter page with footnotes →

The Cloud above the Tabernacle

^9:15And on the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony; and in the evening there was upon the tabernacle as the appearance of fire, until morning. ¹⁶So it was continually: the cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, then after that the children of Israel journeyed; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel encamped. ¹⁸At the mouth of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the mouth of the LORD they encamped; all the days that the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they remained encamped.

¹⁹And when the cloud prolonged upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not journey. ²⁰And there were times when the cloud was a number of days upon the tabernacle; at the mouth of the LORD they encamped, and at the mouth of the LORD they journeyed. ²¹And there were times when the cloud was from evening until morning, and the cloud was taken up in the morning, and they journeyed; or by day and night, and the cloud was taken up, and they journeyed.

²²Whether two days, or a month, or days, when the cloud prolonged upon the tabernacle, abiding upon it, the children of Israel remained encamped and did not journey; but when it was taken up they journeyed. ²³At the mouth of the LORD they encamped, and at the mouth of the LORD they journeyed; the charge of the LORD they kept, at the mouth of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

The Two Silver Trumpets

^10:1And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ²"Make for yourself two trumpets of silver; of beaten work you shall make them; and they shall be for you for the calling of the congregation and for the setting forward of the camps. ³And when they blow with them, all the congregation shall gather to you at the entrance of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed). ⁴And if they blow with one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather to you.

⁵And when you blow an alarm, the camps that encamp eastward shall journey. ⁶And when you blow an alarm a second time, the camps that encamp southward shall journey; an alarm they shall blow for their journeys. ⁷But in assembling the assembly, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm. ⁸And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations.

⁹And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed times (moedim), and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God."

5Reading 5 Numbers 10:11–34Chapter page with footnotes →

From Sinai to Paran

^10:11And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony. ¹²And the children of Israel journeyed on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³And they journeyed at the first, at the mouth of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

¹⁴And the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward first according to their hosts; and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. ¹⁶And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. ¹⁷And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, the bearers of the tabernacle, set forward.

¹⁸And the standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their hosts; and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. ²¹And the Kohathites set forward, the bearers of the sanctuary; and they set up the tabernacle before their coming.

²²And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their hosts; and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud. ²³And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.

²⁵And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan set forward, the rear guard of all the camps, according to their hosts; and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. ²⁷And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.

²⁸These were the journeys of the children of Israel according to their hosts; and they set forward.

²⁹And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses: "We are journeying to the place of which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you'; come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has spoken good concerning Israel."

³⁰And he said to him: "I will not go, but to my land and to my kindred I will go."

³¹And he said: "Do not, please, leave us; because you know our encamping in the wilderness, and you shall be to us for eyes. ³²And it shall be, if you go with us, then it shall be that the good which the LORD does to us, the same we will do to you."

³³And they journeyed from the mountain of the LORD a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD journeyed before them a journey of three days, to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp.

6Reading 6 Numbers 10:35–11:29Chapter page with footnotes →

^10:35And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said: "Rise up, O LORD, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You."

³⁶And when it rested, he said: "Return, O LORD, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel."

The Complaints of the People

^11:1And it came to pass, the people were as murmurers of evil in the ears of the LORD; and the LORD heard, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them, and consumed in the edge of the camp. ²And the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire sank down. ³And he called the name of that place Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.

⁴And the mixed multitude that was in its midst lusted a lusting; and the sons of Israel also returned and wept, and said, "Who will feed us flesh?" ⁵We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. ⁶But now our soul is dried up; there is nothing at all; only toward the manna are our eyes.

⁷And the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like the appearance of bdellium. ⁸The people went about, and gathered, and ground it in mills or beat it in the mortar, and boiled it in the pot, and made it into cakes; and its taste was like the taste of the moisture of oil. ⁹And when the dew fell upon the camp at night, the manna fell upon it.

The Complaint of Moses

¹⁰And Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly; and in the eyes of Moses it was evil.

¹¹And Moses said to the LORD, "Why have you done evil to your servant? and why have I not found favor in your eyes, to put the burden of all this people upon me? ¹²Did I conceive all this people? did I beget them, that you should say to me, 'Carry them in your bosom, as the nursing-father carries the suckling,' upon the ground which you swore to their fathers?

¹³From where do I have flesh to give to all this people? for they weep upon me, saying, 'Give us flesh, that we may eat.'

¹⁴I am not able, I alone, to bear all this people, because it is too heavy for me. ¹⁵And if you are doing thus to me, kill me, I pray, kill, if I have found favor in your eyes; and let me not look upon my evil."

The Spirit Placed on the Seventy Elders

¹⁶And the LORD said to Moses, "Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know that they are the elders of the people and its officers; and take them to the tent of appointed time (mo-ed), and they shall station themselves there with you.

¹⁷And I will come down and speak with you there; and I will take away from the spirit which is upon you, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear with you the burden of the people, that you bear it not, you alone.

¹⁸And to the people you shall say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Who will feed us flesh? for it was good for us in Egypt"; therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and you shall eat. ¹⁹You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ²⁰but a month of days, until it comes out from your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the LORD who is in your midst, and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come out from Egypt?"'"

²¹And Moses said, "Six hundred thousand on foot is the people in whose midst I am; and you have said, 'Flesh I will give to them, and they shall eat a month of days.' ²²Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and it suffice for them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered for them, and it suffice for them?"

²³And the LORD said to Moses, "Is the hand of the LORD shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will happen to you or not."

²⁴And Moses went out and spoke to the people the words of the LORD; and he gathered seventy men from the elders of the people, and made them stand around the tent. ²⁵And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took away from the spirit which was upon him, and gave it to the seventy men, the elders; and it came to pass, when the spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, but they did not continue.

²⁶And two men remained in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the second Medad; and the spirit rested upon them—and they were among those written, but they had not gone out to the tent—and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷And the young man ran and told Moses, and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."

²⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses from his youth, answered and said, "My lord Moses, restrain them."

²⁹And Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for me? would that all the people of the LORD were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"

7Reading 7 Numbers 11:30–12:16Chapter page with footnotes →

^11:30And Moses gathered into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

³¹And a wind journeyed from the LORD and brought over quails from the sea, and let them fall upon the camp, about a day's journey on this side and about a day's journey on that side, around the camp, and about two cubits upon the face of the earth. ³²And the people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail; he who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves, spreading, around the camp.

³³The flesh was still between their teeth, before it was cut off, and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great blow. ³⁴And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who lusted.

³⁵From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth; and they were at Hazeroth.

The Complaint of Miriam and Aaron

^12:1And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had taken; for he had taken a Cushite woman. ²And they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only with Moses? has he not also spoken with us?" And the LORD heard.

³And the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men who were upon the face of the ground.

⁴And the LORD said suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, "Come out, the three of you, to the tent of appointed time (mo-ed)." And the three of them came out. ⁵And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and the two of them came out. ⁶And he said, "Hear now my words: if there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make myself known to him in a vision, in a dream I speak with him.

⁷Not so my servant Moses; in all my house he is faithful.

⁸Mouth to mouth I speak with him, and in appearance, and not in riddles; and the form of the LORD he beholds; and why were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?" ⁹And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.

¹⁰And the cloud turned away from over the tent; and behold, Miriam was leprous, as snow; and Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. ¹¹And Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord, lay not, I pray, upon us sin in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹²Let her not, I pray, be like the dead, who when he comes out from his mother's womb, half of his flesh is consumed."

¹³And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, "God, I pray, heal her, I pray."

¹⁴And the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up seven days outside the camp, and afterward she shall be gathered in."

¹⁵And Miriam was shut up outside the camp seven days; and the people did not journey until Miriam was gathered in. ¹⁶And afterward the people journeyed from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

PZechariah 2:14–4:7Chapter page with footnotes →

^2:14Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for behold, I come, and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. ¹⁵And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁶And the LORD shall inherit Judah as his portion upon the holy ground, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. ¹⁷Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD; for he is roused up from the habitation of his holiness.

The Vision of Joshua the High Priest

^3:1And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

²And the LORD said to Satan, the LORD rebuke you, O Satan; yes, the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?

³Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. ⁴And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And to him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with festal robes.

⁵And I said, Let them set a clean turban upon his head. So they set the clean turban upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of the LORD was standing by.

⁶And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you shall also judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you free access among these that stand here.

⁸Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows that sit before you, for they are men of wonder; for behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. ⁹For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes; behold, I will engrave its engraving, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ¹⁰In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, you shall call, every man to his neighbor, under the vine and under the fig tree.

The Vision of the Lampstand and Olive Trees

^4:1And the angel that spoke with me returned, and roused me, like a man that is roused out of his sleep.

²And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I have seen, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl upon its top, and its seven lamps upon it, seven and seven pipes to the lamps that are upon its top; ³and two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left.

⁴And I answered and spoke to the angel that spoke with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

⁵And the angel that spoke with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.

⁶And he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts. ⁷Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings, Grace, grace, to it!

AHebrews 3:1–6Chapter page with footnotes →

Yeshua Our Apostle and High Priest

^3:1Therefore, holy ones brothers, fellow participant in the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession — Yeshua Messiah — ²who was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

³For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by as much as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. ⁴For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of all things.

⁵And Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of the things that were to be spoken; ⁶but Messiah was faithful as a Son over His house — whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the boasting of our hope firm to the end.