Study Desk

"‘If any person sins unintentionally, then he must bring a yearling female goat for a purification offering.

And the priest must make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally—when he sins unintentionally before the Lord —to make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

You must have one law for the person who sins unintentionally, both for the native-born among the Israelites and for the resident foreigner who lives among them.

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

Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord , "Have no respect for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!"

Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will.

All the Israelites who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, "What if the earth swallows us too?"

"Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire at a distance.

As for the censers of these men who sinned at the cost of their lives, they must be made into hammered sheets for covering the altar, because they presented them before the Lord and sanctified them. They will become a sign to the Israelites."

So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers presented by those who had been burned up, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar.

It was a memorial for the Israelites, that no outsider who is not a descendant of Aaron should approach to burn incense before the Lord , that he might not become like Korah and his company—just as the Lord had spoken by the authority of Moses.

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take the censer, put burning coals from the altar in it, place incense on it, and go quickly into the assembly and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord —the plague has begun!"

So Aaron did as Moses commanded and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague was just beginning among the people. So he placed incense on the coals and made atonement for the people.

You must write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi; for one staff is for the head of every tribe.

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

On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony—and the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and produced blossoms, and yielded almonds!

The Lord said to Moses, "Bring Aaron's staff back before the testimony to be preserved for a sign to the rebels, so that you may bring their murmurings to an end before me, that they will not die."

They must be responsible to care for you and to care for the entire tabernacle. However, they must not come near the furnishings of the sanctuary and the altar, or both they and you will die.

They must join with you, and they will be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent, but no unauthorized person may approach you.

You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be no more wrath on the Israelites.