Study Desk

Moses brought out all the walking sticks from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. They looked, and each man took his stick.

Bring with you your brothers also, the family of Levi, the family of your father. Then they may join you and help you while you and your sons are in front of the meeting tent of the Law.

They will help you and help in doing all the work of the tent. But they must not come near the objects of the meeting tent and the altar, or both they and you will die.

They will join you and help do all the work of the meeting tent. But no one else may come near you.

This will be yours from the most holy gifts, kept from the fire: every gift of theirs, even every grain gift, every sin gift and every guilt gift, which they bring to Me. They will be most holy for you and your sons.

I give to you all the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the first-fruits of what they give to the Lord.

Every first-born of all flesh, man or animal, which they give to the Lord, will be yours. But you must pay the price and make free the first-born of man and the first-born of animals that are unclean.

But do not free the first-born of a bull or sheep or goat. For they are holy. You will put their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a gift by fire, a pleasing smell to the Lord.

The people of Israel must not come near the meeting tent again, or they will be guilty of sin and die.

Only the Levites may do the work around the meeting tent, and they will carry their sin. It will be a Law forever for all your children-to-come. And they will have no land among the people of Israel.

Now a man who is clean will gather up the ashes of the young cow and put them in a clean place away from the tents. They will be kept for the people of Israel to mix with the water used to make things clean, to take away sin.

Now there was no water for the people, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.

Then Moses and Aaron went from the people to the door of the meeting tent, and bowed to the ground. They saw the shining-greatness of the Lord.

Our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians were bad in the way they acted toward us.

Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people wanted to give up because of the long way.

They spoke against God and Moses, saying, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is no food and no water. And we hate this bad food."

Then they left Oboth and stopped at Iye-abarim, in the desert beside Moab, to the east.

And from there they traveled on and set up their tents on the other side of the Arnon. It is in the desert that goes out from the land of the Amorites. For the Arnon is the side of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

The well, which the leaders dug, which the rulers of the people dug, with the special stick of power and with their walking sticks." From the desert they went on to Mattanah.

From Mattanah they went to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth.