Numbers 10

1 And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying:

Yahweh also told Moses/me,

2 Make thee two trumpets of silver, of beaten work, shalt thou make them, —and they shall be unto thee for calling the assembly, and for setting forward the camps.

“[Tell someone to] make two trumpets by hammering each one from [one lump of] silver. Blow the trumpets to summon the people to come together and also to signal that they must move their tents [to a new location].

3 As soon as they blow therewith, so soon shall all the assembly assemble themselves unto thee, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting.

If both trumpets are blown, it means that everyone must gather together at the entrance of the Sacred Tent.

4 And, if, only once, they blow, then shall the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, gather themselves unto thee.

If only one trumpet is blown, it means that only the [twelve] leaders of the tribes must gather together.

5 But when ye blow an alarm, then shall set forward the camps that are encamped eastwards;

If the trumpets are blown loudly, the tribes that are to the east [of the Sacred Tent] should start to travel.

6 and when ye blow a second alarm, then shall set forward the camps that are encamped southwards, —an alarm, shall they blow for setting them forward,

When the trumpets are blown loudly the second time, the tribes that are to the south should start to travel. The loud blasts on the trumpet will signal that they should start to travel.

7 But in calling together the convocation, ye shall blow but shall not sound an alarm.

When you want only to gather the people together, blow the trumpets, but do not blow them as loudly.

8 And, the sons of Aaron the priests, shall blow with the trumpets, —and it shall be unto you for a statute age-abiding, unto your generations.

“The priests who are descended from Aaron are the ones who should blow the trumpets. That is a regulation that will never be changed.

9 And when ye go into war in your land against the assailant that assaileth you, then shall ye blow an alarm with the trumpets, —and bring yourselves to mind before Yahweh your God, and be saved, from your enemies,

When you fight against enemies who attack you in your own land, tell the priests to blow the trumpets loudly. I, Yahweh, your God, will hear that, and I will rescue you from your enemies.

10 And in your day of rejoicing and in your appointed seasons and in the beginnings of your months, then shall ye blow with the trumpets, over your ascending-sacrifices, and over your peace-offerings, —so shall they be unto you for a memorial before your God. I—Yahweh, am your God.

Also tell the priests to blow the trumpets when the people are happy, and at the festivals [each year], and at the times when they celebrate the new moon each month. Tell them to blow the trumpets when the people bring offerings that will be completely burned, and when they bring offerings to maintain fellowship with me. If they do that, it will help you to remember that I, Yahweh your God, [will help you].”

11 And so it came to pass in the second year, in the second month on the twentieth of the month, that the cloud lifted itself up, from off the habitation of the testimony;

On the twentieth day of May in the second year [after the/we Israelis left Egypt], the cloud rose up from above the Sacred Tent.

12 and the sons of Israel set forward by their removals from the desert of Sinai, and then the cloud abode in the desert of Paran.

So we/the Israelis traveled from the Sinai Desert, and we/they continued traveling [north] until the cloud stopped in the Paran Desert.

13 Thus then did they set forward for the first time, —at the bidding of Yahweh, by the hand of Moses.

That was the first time we/they moved, obeying the instructions that Yahweh had given to Moses/me to tell them.

14 So the standard of the camp of the sons of Judah set forward first, by their hosts, and over his own host, was Nahshon, son of Amminadab;

The group that went first, carrying their flag/banner, was the group from the tribe of Judah. Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, was their leader.

15 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, Nethanel, son of Zuar;

The group from the tribe of Issachar [followed them]. Nethanel, the son of Zuar, was their leader.

16 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, Eliab, son of Helon.

The group from the tribe of Zebulun went next. Eliab, the son of Helon, was their leader.

17 Then was taken down the habitation, —and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set forward bearing the habitation.

Then they dismantled the Sacred Tent, and the descendants of Gershon and Merari carried it, and they went next.

18 Then set forward the standard of the camp of Reuben, by their hosts, —and over his own host, Elizur, son of Shedeur;

The group from the tribe of Reuben went next, carrying their flag. Elizur, the son of Shedeur, was their leader.

19 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai;

The group from the tribe of Simeon was next. Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, was their leader.

20 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Gad, Eliasaph, son of Deuel.

The group from the tribe of Gad was next. Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, was their leader.

21 Then set forward the Kohathites, bearing the sanctuary, —and so the habitation was reared by the time they came in.

The group descended from Kohath was next. They carried the sacred items from the Sacred Tent. The Sacred Tent itself was set up at the new location before they arrived there.

22 Then set forward the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim by their hosts, —and over his own host, was Elishama son of Ammihud;

The group from the tribe of Ephraim was next, carrying their flag. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, was their leader.

23 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur;

The group from the tribe of Manasseh went next. Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, was their leader.

24 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan, son of Gideoni.

The group from the tribe of Benjamin, went next. Abidan, the son of Gideoni, was their leader.

25 Then set forward the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, bringing up the rear of all the camps, by their hosts, —and over his own host, Ahiezur, son of Ammishaddai;

The ones who went last were the group from the tribe of Dan, carrying their flag. Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, was their leader.

26 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Asher, Pagiel, son of Ochran;

The group from the tribe of Asher went next. Pagiel, the son of Ocran, was their leader.

27 and, over the host of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, Ahira, son of Enan.

The group from the tribe of Naphtali went last. Ahira, the son of Enan, was their leader.

28 These, were the settings-forward of the sons of Israel by their hosts, —thus did they set forward.

That was the order in which the groups of Israeli tribes traveled.

29 Then said Moses to Hobab, son of Raguel the Midianite, father-in-law of Moses: Setting forward, are we unto the place of which Yahweh hath said, The same, will I give unto you, —Oh come with us and we will do thee good, for, Yahweh, hath spoken good, concerning Israel.

One day Moses/I said to his/my brother-in-law Hobab, the son of Reuel from the Midian people-group, “We are on the way to the place that Yahweh promised to give to us. Come with us, and we will take good care of you, because Yahweh has promised [to do] good things for us Israeli people.”

30 And he said unto him, I will not go, —but unto my own land, and unto my own kindred, will I go.

But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go with you. I want to return to my own land and to my own family.”

31 Then said he: I beseech thee, do not forsake us, —for, on this account, hast thou come to know of our encamping in the desert, so shalt thou be unto us as eyes;

But Moses/I said, “Please do not leave us. You know the places where we can set up our tents in this desert, and you can guide us.

32 and it shall be if thou wilt go with us, —yea it shall be that with the very good wherewith Yahweh shall do us good, will we do good unto thee.

Come with us. We will share with you all the good things that Yahweh gives to us.”

33 So then they went forward, from the mountain of Yahweh, a journey of three days, —and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, was going before them a journey of three days, to search out for them a resting-place,

[So Hobab agreed to go with them]. The Israelis left Sinai Mountain, [which they called] Yahweh’s Mountain, and they walked for three days. The [men carrying the] sacred chest went in front of the other people for those three days, and they kept looking for a place to set up their tents.

34 And the cloud of Yahweh, was over them by day, —when they set forward out of the camp.

The cloud sent by Yahweh was over them every day.

35 And it came to pass when the ark set forward, that Moses said: Arise, O Yahweh! and scattered be thy foes, Let them that hate thee flee before thee;

Each morning when the men who were carrying the sacred chest started to walk, Moses/I said, “Yahweh, arise! Scatter your enemies! Cause those who hate you to run away from you!”

36 But when it rested, he said, —Return, O Yahweh! unto the myriads of the thousands of Israel.

And each time the men [stopped to] set down the sacred chest, Moses/I said, “Yahweh, stay close to the thousands of us Israelis!”