Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging ¹  report of the land they had investigated, saying, “The land that we passed through ²  to investigate is a land that devours ³  its inhabitants. ⁴  All the people we saw there ⁵  are of great stature.

And all the Israelites murmured ¹  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ²  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ³  in this wilderness!

And the priest is to make atonement ¹  for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven, ²  because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, and their purification offering before the Lord, for their unintentional offense.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make ¹  tassels ²  for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread ³  on the tassel of the corners.

put fire in them, and set incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses will be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!”

“Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe, ¹  one from every tribal leader, ²  twelve staffs; you must write each man’s name on his staff.

So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader, ¹  according to their tribes ²  – twelve staffs; the staff of Aaron was among their staffs.

The Lord spoke to Aaron, “See, I have given you the responsibility for my raised offerings; I have given all the holy things of the Israelites to you as your priestly portion ¹  and to your sons as a perpetual ordinance.

“And this is yours: the raised offering of their gift, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual ordinance. Everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.

All the raised offerings of the holy things that the Israelites offer to the Lord, I have given to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt ¹  forever before the Lord for you and for your descendants with you.”

But the Levites must perform the service ¹  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ²  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ³  have no inheritance. ⁴ 

“You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up ¹  from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth of the tithe.

Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the Lord’s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest.

“This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded: ‘Instruct ¹  the Israelites to bring ²  you a red ³  heifer ⁴  without blemish, which has no defect ⁵  and has never carried a yoke.

“‘Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept ¹  for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification ²  – it is a purification for sin. ³ 

Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough ¹  to show me as holy ²  before ³  the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.” ⁴ 

And he sent messengers to Balaam ¹  son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River ²  in the land of Amaw, ³  to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face ⁴  of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

‘I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not close at hand. ¹  A star ²  will march forth ³  out of Jacob, and a scepter ⁴  will rise out of Israel. He will crush the skulls ⁵  of Moab, and the heads ⁶  of all the sons of Sheth. ⁷ 

Just then ¹  one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers ²  a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of ³  the whole community of the Israelites, while they ⁴  were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

and went after the Israelite man into the tent ¹  and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman’s abdomen. ²  So the plague was stopped from the Israelites. ³