Numbers 9

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

One year after the Israelis left Egypt, during the month of March, while they were in the Sinai Desert, Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at its appointed season.

“Tell the Israeli people that they must celebrate the Passover [Festival again].

3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, ye shall keep it in its appointed season: according to all its rites, and according to all its ceremonies, shall ye keep it.

They must do it on the fourteenth day of this month, early in the evening, and they must obey all the instructions about it [that I gave you previously].”

4 And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.

So Moses/I told the people what Yahweh had said about celebrating the Passover.

5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at evening in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.

The people celebrated it, there in the Sinai Desert, in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me.

6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:

But some of the Israeli people had touched a corpse, and as a result they had become unfit to celebrate the Passover. So they asked Aaron and Moses/me,

7 And those men said to him, We [are] defiled by the dead body of a man: why are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in its appointed season among the children of Israel?

“It is true that we have touched a corpse. But why should that prevent us from celebrating the Passover Festival and offering sacrifices to Yahweh like everyone else [RHQ]?”

8 And Moses said to them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.

Moses/I replied, “Wait here until I go into the Sacred Tent and find out what Yahweh says about it.”

9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

[So Moses/I went into the tent and asked Yahweh what he/I should tell the people], and this is what Yahweh said:

10 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or [be] in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover to the LORD.

“Tell this to the Israeli people: If any of you or your descendants touch a corpse and as a result become unacceptable to me, or if you are away from home on a long trip [at the time to celebrate the Passover], you will still be permitted to celebrate it.

11 The fourteenth day of the second month at evening, they shall keep it, [and] eat it with unleavened bread and bitter [herbs].

But you must celebrate it exactly one month later, early in the evening of the fourteenth day of that month. Eat the meat of the lamb for the Passover Festival with bread that is baked without yeast and eat bitter herbs.

12 They shall leave none of it to the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.

Do not leave any of it until the next morning. And do not break any of the lamb’s bones. Obey all the regulations about celebrating the Passover.

13 But the man that [is] clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

But if any of you has not done anything that would make you unfit to celebrate the Passover Festival, and you are not away from home on a long trip, and you do not sacrifice to me at the proper time, you will no longer be allowed to associate with my people. (You will be punished/I will punish you).

14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover to the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner of it, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

Foreigners who live among you may also celebrate the Passover Festival, if they obey all my commands concerning it.”

15 And on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, [namely], the tent of the testimony: and at evening there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.

On the day that the Sacred Tent was set up, a cloud covered it. From the time that the sun set until the time that the sun rose [the next day], the cloud resembled a [huge] fire. And that is what happened every day [that we/the Israelis were in the desert].

16 So it was always; the cloud covered it [by day], and the appearance of fire by night.

17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

When the cloud rose up and started to move [to a new location], we/they followed it. When the cloud stopped, we/the Israelis stopped there and set up their tents.

18 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they encamped: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.

We/They traveled when Yahweh, [by causing the cloud to move or stop], signaled to us/them when to move and when to stop. When the cloud stayed over the Sacred Tent, we/the Israelis stayed at that place.

19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.

Sometimes the cloud stayed over the tent for a long time, so when that happened, we/they did not travel.

20 And [so] it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed.

Sometimes the cloud remained over the tent for only a few days. We/The people stopped and set up our/their tents as Yahweh commanded us/them, and we/they traveled [to a new location] when Yahweh commanded us/them to do that.

21 And [so] it was, when the cloud abode from evening to the morning, and [that] the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether [it was] by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.

Sometimes the cloud stayed in one place for only one day. When that happened, when the cloud rose up [into the sky] the next morning, then we/they traveled. Whenever the cloud moved, during the day or during the night, we/they traveled.

22 Or [whether it was] two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining upon it, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

If the cloud stayed over the Sacred Tent for two days, or for a month, or for a year, during that time we/they stayed where we/they were. But when the cloud rose up [into the sky], we/they started to travel.

23 At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

When Yahweh commanded us/them to [stop and] set up our/their tents, we/they did that. When he told us/them to move, we/they moved. We/They did whatever Yahweh told Moses/me that we/they should do.