Various Authors Various Authors - The Tanakh

23And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: 24'This is that which pertaineth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to perform the service in the work of the tent of meeting; 25and from the age of fifty years they shall return from the service of the work, and shall serve no more; 26but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, but they shall do no manner of service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charges.'

9And the Lord spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2'Let the children of Israel keep the passover in its appointed season. 3In the fourteenth day of this month, at dusk, ye shall keep it in its appointed season; according to all the statutes of it, and according to all the ordinances thereof, shall ye keep it.' 4And Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. 5And they kept the passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at dusk, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. 6But there were certain men, who were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. 7And those men said unto him: 'We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of the Lord in its appointed season among the children of Israel?' 8And Moses said unto them: 'Stay ye, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.'

9And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: 10'Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord; 11in the second month on the fourteenth day at dusk they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; 12they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof; according to all the statute of the passover they shall keep it. 13But the man that is clean, and is not on a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people; because he brought not the offering of the Lord in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. 14And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the Lord: according to the statute of the passover, and according to the ordinance thereof, so shall he do; ye shall have one statute, both for the stranger, and for him that is born in the land.'

15And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony; and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until morning. 16So it was alway: 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 abode, there the children of Israel encamped. 18At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they encamped: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they remained encamped. 19And when the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not. 20And sometimes the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed. 21And sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they journeyed; or if it continued by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. 22Whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, abiding thereon, the children of Israel remained encamped, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed. 23At the commandment of the Lord they encamped, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

10And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: 2'Make thee two trumpets of silver; of beaten work shalt thou make them; and they shall be unto thee for the calling of the congregation, and for causing the camps to set forward. 3And when they shall blow with them, all the congregation shall gather themselves unto thee at the door of the tent of meeting. 4And if they blow but with one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5And when ye blow an alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall take their journey. 6And when ye blow an alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall set forward; they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7But when the assembly is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye 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 for ever throughout your generations. 9And when ye go to war in your land against the adversary that oppresseth you, then ye shall sound an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10Also in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in your new moons, ye 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.'

11And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony. 12And the children of Israel set forward by their stages out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud abode in the wilderness of Paran.— 13And they took their first journey, according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. 14And in the first place the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward 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, who bore 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 the bearers of the sanctuary set forward, that the tabernacle might be set up against 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, which was the rearward of all the camps, set forward 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. 28Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their hosts.—And they set forward.

29And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law: 'We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said: I will give it you; come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.' 30And he said unto him: 'I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.' 31And he said: 'Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou shalt be to us instead of eyes. 32And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what good soever the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.'