Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging<n id="1" /> report of the land they had investigated, saying, &#8220;The land that we passed through<n id="2" /> to investigate is a land that devours<n id="3" /> its inhabitants.<n id="4" /> All the people we saw there<n id="5" /> are of great stature.

And all the Israelites murmured<n id="1" /> against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, &#8220;If only we had died<n id="2" /> in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished<n id="3" /> in this wilderness!

And the priest is to make atonement<n id="1" /> for the whole community of the Israelites, and they will be forgiven,<n id="2" /> because it was unintentional and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire to the <sc>Lordsc>, and their purification offering before the <sc>Lordsc>, for their unintentional offense.

&#8220;Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make<n id="1" /> tassels<n id="2" /> for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread<n id="3" /> on the tassel of the corners.

put fire in them, and set incense on them before the <sc>Lordsc> tomorrow, and the man whom the <sc>Lordsc> chooses will be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!&#8221;

&#8220;Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe,<n id="1" /> one from every tribal leader,<n id="2" /> twelve staffs; you must write each man&#8217;s name on his staff.

<p class="bodytext">So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff, one for each leader,<n id="1" /> according to their tribes<n id="2" /> &#8211; twelve staffs; the staff of Aaron was among their staffs.

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to Aaron, &#8220;See, I have given you the responsibility for my raised offerings; I have given all the holy things of the Israelites to you as your priestly portion<n id="1" /> and to your sons as a perpetual ordinance.

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;And this is yours: the raised offering of their gift, along with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual ordinance. Everyone who is ceremonially clean in your household may eat of it.p>

All the raised offerings of the holy things that the Israelites offer to the <sc>Lordsc>, I have given to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt<n id="1" /> forever before the <sc>Lordsc> for you and for your descendants with you.&#8221;p>

But the Levites must perform the service<n id="1" /> of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity.<n id="2" /> It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites<n id="3" /> have no inheritance.<n id="4" />

&#8220;You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, &#8216;When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up<n id="1" /> from it as a raised offering to the <sc>Lordsc> a tenth of the tithe.

Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the <sc>Lordsc> of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest.

&#8220;This is the ordinance of the law which the <sc>Lordsc> has commanded: &#8216;Instruct<n id="1" /> the Israelites to bring<n id="2" /> you a red<n id="3" /> heifer<n id="4" /> without blemish, which has no defect<n id="5" /> and has never carried a yoke.

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;&#8216;Then a man who is ceremonially clean must gather up the ashes of the red heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept<n id="1" /> for the community of the Israelites for use in the water of purification<n id="2" /> &#8211; it is a purification for sin.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then the <sc>Lordsc> spoke to Moses and Aaron, &#8220;Because you did not trust me enough<n id="1" /> to show me as holy<n id="2" /> before<n id="3" /> the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.&#8221;<n id="4" />p>

And he sent messengers to Balaam<n id="1" /> son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River<n id="2" /> in the land of Amaw,<n id="3" /> to summon him, saying, &#8220;Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face<n id="4" /> of the earth, and they are settling next to me.

<p class="poetry">&#8216;I see him, but not now;p> <p class="poetry">I behold him, but not close at hand.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">A star<n id="2" /> will march forth<n id="3" /> out of Jacob,p> <p class="poetry">and a scepter<n id="4" /> will rise out of Israel.p> <p class="poetry">He will crush the skulls<n id="5" /> of Moab,p> <p class="poetry">and the heads<n id="6" /> of all the sons of Sheth.<n id="7" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Just then<n id="1" /> one of the Israelites came and brought to his brothers<n id="2" /> a Midianite woman in the plain view of Moses and of<n id="3" /> the whole community of the Israelites, while they<n id="4" /> were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

and went after the Israelite man into the tent<n id="1" /> and thrust through the Israelite man and into the woman&#8217;s abdomen.<n id="2" /> So the plague was stopped from the Israelites.<n id="3" />