Bible in a Year · Day 41 of 365
Today’s reading: Numbers 4–6 (3 chapters)
Read the passage below, or open your own Bible and follow along. The text here is the World English Bible, a public-domain translation, printed in full so the day’s reading is all on one page.
About Numbers
Numbers is a book of travel and failure. Israel leaves Sinai, counts its fighting men, and sets out for the land promised to their fathers. Within a year of leaving Egypt, at the border, ten of the twelve spies bring a frightened report and the people refuse to go in. The consequence is forty years in the wilderness, a generation dying short of the promise, and God feeding them manna the whole time. The book also holds quieter material: a donkey that speaks, a prophet hired to curse who blesses instead, and a bronze serpent lifted on a pole. It is the longest wilderness stretch in the plan, and it is honest about what unbelief costs.
What to watch for. Watch the two censuses, one at the start and one near the end, and who is missing from the second. Notice how God's patience and his judgement appear in the same story rather than in separate books.
Numbers 4
1Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, 3from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. 4“This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting, the most holy things. 5When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it,
6and shall put a covering of sealskin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles. 7“On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it. 8They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles. 9“They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the lamp stand of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it. 10They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame.
11“On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles. 12“They shall take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame. 13“They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it. 14They shall put on it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles. 15“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting.
16“The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the requirements of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings.” 17Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 18“Don’t cut off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites; 19but thus do to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them everyone to his service and to his burden; 20but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die.”
21Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 22“Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’ houses, by their families; 23you shall count them from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting. 24“This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens: 25they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above on it, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,
26and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. They shall serve in there. 27At the commandment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden, and in all their service; and you shall appoint their duty to them in all their responsibilities. 28This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the Tent of Meeting: and their duty shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 29“As for the sons of Merari, you shall count them by their families, by their fathers’ houses; 30you shall count them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.
31This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, 32and the pillars of the court around it, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name you shall appoint the instruments of the duty of their burden. 33This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.” 34Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation counted the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 35from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting.
36Those who were counted of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty. 37These are those who were counted of the families of the Kohathites, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses. 38Those who were counted of the sons of Gershon, their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 39from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting, 40even those who were counted of them, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, were two thousand six hundred thirty.
41These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh. 42Those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, 43from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting, 44even those who were counted of them by their families, were three thousand two hundred. 45These are those who were counted of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron counted according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
46All those who were counted of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel counted, by their families, and by their fathers’ houses, 47from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting, 48even those who were counted of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty. 49According to the commandment of Yahweh they were counted by Moses, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden. Thus were they counted by him, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Numbers 5
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead. 3Both you shall put male and female outside of the camp; that they not defile their camp, in the middle of which I dwell.” 4The children of Israel did so, and put them outside of the camp; as Yahweh spoke to Moses, so did the children of Israel. 5Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
6“Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Yahweh, and that soul is guilty; 7then he shall confess his sin which he has done, and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty. 8But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to Yahweh shall be the priest’s; besides the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him. 9Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his. 10Every man’s holy things shall be his: whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.’”
11Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him, 13and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and is kept close, and she is defiled, and there is no witness against her, and she isn’t taken in the act; 14and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she isn’t defiled: 15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
16The priest shall bring her near, and set her before Yahweh; 17and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water. 18The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse. 19The priest shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you haven’t gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse. 20But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband:”
21then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, “Yahweh make you a curse and an oath among your people, when Yahweh allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell; 22and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.” 23“‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness. 24He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter. 25The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before Yahweh, and bring it to the altar.
26The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled, and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away: and the woman will be a curse among her people. 28If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring. 29“‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled; 30or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before Yahweh, and the priest shall execute on her all this law.
31The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’”
Numbers 6
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh, 3he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of fermented drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried. 4All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins. 5“‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come on his head, until the days are fulfilled, in which he separates himself to Yahweh. He shall be holy. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
6“‘All the days that he separates himself to Yahweh he shall not go near a dead body. 7He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because his separation to God is on his head. 8All the days of his separation he is holy to Yahweh. 9“‘If any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day he shall shave it. 10On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting.
11The priest shall offer one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall make his head holy that same day. 12He shall separate to Yahweh the days of his separation, and shall bring a male lamb a year old for a trespass offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled. 13“‘This is the law of the Nazirite: when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting, 14and he shall offer his offering to Yahweh, one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering, and one ram without defect for peace offerings, 15and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal offering, and their drink offerings.
16The priest shall present them before Yahweh, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering. 17He shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its meal offering, and its drink offering. 18The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the head of his separation; 20and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. This is holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.
21“‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his offering to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation.’” 22Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 23“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is how you shall bless the children of Israel.’ You shall tell them, 24‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. 25Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you.
26Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’ 27“So they shall put my name on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public-domain translation. Day numbering follows the calendar year; you can start at Day 1 on any date.
