Bible in a Year · Day 49 of 365
Today’s reading: Numbers 28–30 (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 28
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘See that you present my offering, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to me, in their due season.’ 3You shall tell them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to Yahweh: male lambs a year old without defect, two day by day, for a continual burnt offering. 4You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb at evening; 5with one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil.
6It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in Mount Sinai for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 7Its drink offering shall be the fourth part of a hin for the one lamb. You shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to Yahweh in the holy place. 8The other lamb you shall offer at evening. As the meal offering of the morning, and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. 9“‘On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without defect, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: 10this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.
11“‘In the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, and one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect; 12and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; and two tenth parts of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13and one tenth part of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering to every lamb; for a burnt offering of a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 14Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, and the third part of a hin for the ram, and the fourth part of a hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year. 15One male goat for a sin offering to Yahweh; it shall be offered besides the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.
16“‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Yahweh’s Passover. 17On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18In the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work; 19but you shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, and one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; they shall be to you without defect; 20and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil. You shall offer three tenths for a bull, and two tenths for the ram.
21You shall offer one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; 22and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. 23You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. 24In this way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of the offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. It shall be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering. 25On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
26“‘Also in the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new meal offering to Yahweh in your feast of weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work; 27but you shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; 28and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for each bull, two tenths for the one ram, 29one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; 30one male goat, to make atonement for you.
31Besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, you shall offer them and their drink offerings. See that they are without defect.
Numbers 29
1“‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no regular work: it is a day of blowing of trumpets to you. 2You shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect; 3and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the ram, 4and one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; 5and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you;
6besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its meal offering, and the continual burnt offering and its meal offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 7“‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do no kind of work; 8but you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; all without defect; 9and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, 10one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs:
11one male goat for a sin offering; besides the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and their drink offerings. 12“‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. You shall keep a feast to Yahweh seven days. 13You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; all without defect; 14and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for every bull of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each ram of the two rams, 15and one tenth for every lamb of the fourteen lambs;
16and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering. 17“‘On the second day you shall offer twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect; 18and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance; 19and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, with its meal offering and their drink offerings. 20“‘On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
21and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance; 22and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and its drink offering. 23“‘On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect; 24their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance; 25and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering.
26“‘On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect; 27and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance; 28and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and its drink offering. 29“‘On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect; 30and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
31and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and the drink offerings of it. 32“‘On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect; 33and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance; 34and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering. 35“‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly: you shall do no regular work;
36but you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect; 37their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the ordinance: 38and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, with its meal offering, and its drink offering. 39“‘You shall offer these to Yahweh in your set feasts, besides your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meal offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.’” 40Moses told the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses.
Numbers 30
1Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded. 2When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3“Also when a woman vows a vow to Yahweh, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father’s house, in her youth, 4and her father hears her vow, and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father holds his peace at her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. 5But if her father forbids her in the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand. Yahweh will forgive her, because her father has forbidden her.
6“If she has a husband, while her vows are on her, or the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul, 7and her husband hears it, and hold his peace at her in the day that he hears it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she has bound her soul shall stand. 8But if her husband forbids her in the day that he hears it, then he shall make void her vow which is on her, and the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul. Yahweh will forgive her. 9“But the vow of a widow, or of her who is divorced, everything with which she has bound her soul, shall stand against her. 10“If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath,
11and her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and didn’t disallow her; then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. 12But if her husband made them null and void in the day that he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand. Her husband has made them void. Yahweh will forgive her. 13Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 14But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows, or all her bonds, which are on her. He has established them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. 15But if he shall make them null and void after that he has heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity.”
16These are the statutes which Yahweh commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between a father and his daughter, being in her youth, in her father’s house.
Next · Day 50: Numbers 31–33 →
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.
