Numbers 9

1 In the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:

The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the second year after they departed from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying:

2 “The Israelites are to observe the Passover at its appointed time.

“Let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at its proper time,

3 You are to observe it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with its statutes and ordinances.”

on the fourteenth day of this month, in the evening, according to all of its ceremonies and justifications.”

4 So Moses told the Israelites to observe the Passover,

And Moses instructed the sons of Israel, so that they would observe the Passover.

5 and they did so in the Wilderness of Sinai, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

And they observed it at its proper time: on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, at mount Sinai. The sons of Israel acted according to all the things that the Lord had commanded Moses.

6 But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day

But behold, certain ones, who were not able to observe the Passover on that day, being unclean because of the life of a man, approaching Moses and Aaron,

7 and said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?”

said to them: “We are unclean because of the life of a man. Why have we been cheated, in that we are not permitted to offer, at its proper time, the oblation to the Lord among the sons of Israel?”

8 “Wait here until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you,” Moses replied.

And Moses responded to them: “Remain, so that I may consult the Lord, as to what he will rule about you.”

9 Then the LORD said to Moses,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

10 “Tell the Israelites: ‘When any one of you or your descendants is unclean because of a dead body, or is away on a journey, he may still observe the Passover to the LORD.

“Say to the sons of Israel: The man who becomes unclean because of a life, or if he is on a distant journey within your nation, let him observe the Passover to the Lord.

11 Such people are to observe it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;

In the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, they shall eat it with unleavened bread and wild lettuce.

12 they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.

They shall not leave behind any of it until morning, and they shall not break a bone of it; they shall observe all the rituals of the Passover.

13 But if a man who is ceremonially clean and is not on a journey still fails to observe the Passover, he must be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD’s offering at its appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.

But if any man was both clean, and not on a journey, and yet he did not observe the Passover, that soul shall be exterminated from among his people, because he did not offer the sacrifice to the Lord in its time. He shall bear his sin.

14 If a foreigner dwelling among you wants to observe the Passover to the LORD, he is to do so according to the Passover statute and its ordinances. You are to apply the same statute to both the foreigner and the native of the land.’”

Likewise, the sojourner and the newcomer, if they are among you, shall observe the Passover to the Lord according to its ceremonies and justifications. The same precept shall be with you, as much for the newcomer as for the native.”

15 On the day that the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it and appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning.

And so, on the day when the tabernacle was raised, a cloud covered it. But over the tabernacle, from evening until morning, there was, as it seemed, the appearance of fire.

16 It remained that way continually; the cloud would cover the tabernacle by day, and at night it would appear like fire.

This was so continually: throughout the day a cloud covered it, and throughout the night, the appearance of fire.

17 Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites would set out, and wherever the cloud settled, there the Israelites would camp.

And when the cloud that was protecting the tabernacle had been taken up, then the sons of Israel advanced forward, and in the place where the cloud had remained standing, there they made camp.

18 At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at the LORD’s command they camped. As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle, they remained encamped.

Upon the order of the Lord they advanced, and upon his order they fixed the tabernacle. All the days during which the cloud was standing over the tabernacle, they remained in the same place.

19 Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites kept the LORD’s charge and did not set out.

And if it happened that it remained for a long time over it, the sons of Israel kept the night watches of the Lord, and they did not advance,

20 Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days, and they would camp at the LORD’s command and set out at the LORD’s command.

during as many days as the cloud remained over the tabernacle. At the command of the Lord they raised their tents, and at his command they took them down.

21 Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they would set out. Whether it was by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up, they would set out.

If the cloud remained from evening until morning, and immediately, at first light, it left the tabernacle, they set out. And if it withdrew after a day and a night, they dismantled their tents.

22 Whether the cloud lingered for two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle; but when it was lifted, they would set out.

Yet truly, whether it remained over the tabernacle for two days, or one month, or a longer time, the sons of Israel remained in the same place, and they did not set out. Then, as soon as it withdrew, they moved the camp.

23 They camped at the LORD’s command, and they set out at the LORD’s command; they carried out the LORD’s charge according to His command through Moses.

By the word of the Lord they fixed their tents, and by his word they advanced. And they kept the night watches of the Lord, according to his command by the hand of Moses.