“How long must I bear ¹  with this evil congregation ²  that murmurs against me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites that they murmured against me.

Your dead bodies ¹  will fall in this wilderness – all those of you who were numbered, according to your full number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me.

and your children will wander ¹  in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, ²  until your dead bodies lie finished ³  in the wilderness.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, ¹  which I am giving you, ² 

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land to which I am bringing you ¹ 

and rebelled against Moses, along with some of the Israelites, 250 leaders ¹  of the community, chosen from the assembly, ²  famous men. ³ 

So they got away from the homes of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram on every side, and Dathan and Abiram came out and stationed themselves ¹  in the entrances of their tents with their wives, their children, and their toddlers.

“Tell ¹  Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up ²  the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire ³  at a distance.

But on the next day the whole community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” ¹ 

And the staff of the man whom I choose will blossom; so I will rid myself of the complaints of the Israelites, which they murmur against you.”

So Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the Israelites. They looked at them, ¹  and each man took his staff.

“Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ¹  with you and minister to you while ²  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be ¹  no more wrath on the Israelites.

I myself have chosen ¹  your brothers the Levites from among the Israelites. They are given to you as a gift from the Lord, to perform the duties ²  of the tent of meeting.

And those that must be redeemed you are to redeem when they are a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel (which is twenty gerahs).

The Lord spoke to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion of property ¹  among them – I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.

See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting.

And you will bear no sin concerning it when you offer up the best of it. And you must not profane the holy things of the Israelites, or else you will die.’” ¹ 

The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.

¹ Then the entire community of Israel ²  entered the wilderness of Zin in the first month, ³  and the people stayed in Kadesh. ⁴  Miriam died and was buried there. ⁵