Naso

This translation was taken from the JPS Tanakh

Numbers 4:21 – 7:89 

²¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ²² Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral house and by their clans. ²³ Record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of tasks for the Tent of Meeting. ²⁴ These are the duties of the Gershonite clans as to labor and porterage: ²⁵ they shall carry the cloths of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with its covering, the covering of dolphin skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; ²⁶ the hangings of the enclosure, the screen at the entrance of the gate of the enclosure that surrounds the Tabernacle, the cords thereof, and the altar, and all their service equipment and all their accessories; and they shall perform the service. ²⁷ All the duties of the Gershonites, all their porterage and all their service, shall be performed on orders from Aaron and his sons; you shall make them responsible for attending to all their porterage. ²⁸ Those are the duties of the Gershonite clans for the Tent of Meeting; they shall attend to them under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

²⁹ As for the Merarites, you shall record them by the clans of their ancestral house; ³⁰ you shall record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of the duties for the Tent of Meeting. ³¹ These are their porterage tasks in connection with their various duties for the Tent of Meeting: the planks, the bars, the posts, and the sockets of the Tabernacle; ³² the posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords — all these furnishings and their service: you shall list by name the objects that are their porterage tasks. ³³Those are the duties of the Merarite clans, pertaining to their various duties in the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

³⁴ So Moses, Aaron, and the chieftains of the community recorded the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestral house, ³⁵ from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who were subject to service for work relating to the Tent of Meeting. ³⁶ Those recorded by their clans came to 2,750. ³⁷ That was the enrollment of the Kohathite clans, all those who performed duties relating to the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron recorded at the command of the Lord through Moses.

³⁸ The Gershonites who were recorded by the clans of their ancestral house, ³⁹ from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who were subject to service for work relating to the Tent of Meeting — ⁴⁰ those recorded by the clans of their ancestral house came to 2,630. ⁴¹ That was the enrollment of the Gershonite clans, all those performing duties relating to the Tent of Meeting whom Moses and Aaron recorded at the command of the Lord.

⁴² The enrollment of the Merarite clans by the clans of their ancestral house, ⁴³ from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who were subject to service for work relating to the Tent of Meeting — 44 those recorded by their clans came to 3,200. 45 That was the enrollment of the Merarite clans which Moses and Aaron recorded at the command of the Lord through Moses.

46 All the Levites whom Moses, Aaron, and the chieftains of Israel recorded by the clans of their ancestral houses, ⁴⁷ from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who were subject to duties of service and porterage relating to the Tent of Meeting — ⁴⁸ those recorded came to 8,580. ⁴⁹ Each one was given responsibility for his service and porterage at the command of the Lord through Moses, and each was recorded as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Chapter 5
¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² Instruct the Israelites to remove from camp anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse. ³ Remove male and female alike; put them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp of those in whose midst I dwell.

⁴ The Israelites did so, putting them outside the camp; as the Lord had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.

⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ⁶ Speak to the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, ⁷ he shall confess the wrong that he has done. He shall make restitution in the principal amount and add one-fifth to it, giving it to him whom he has wronged. ⁸ If the man has no kinsman to whom restitution can be made, the amount repaid shall go to the Lord for the priest — in addition to the ram of expiation with which expiation is made on his behalf. ⁹ So, too, any gift among the sacred donations that the Israelites offer shall be the priest’s. ¹⁰ And each shall retain his sacred donations: each priest shall keep what is given to him.

¹¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹² Speak to the Israelite people and say to them:
If any man’s wife has gone astray and broken faith with him ¹³ in that a man has had carnal relations with her unbeknown to her husband, and she keeps secret the fact that she has defiled herself without being forced, and there is no witness against her — ¹⁴ but a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself; or if a fit of jealousy comes over one and he is wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself — ¹⁵ the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. No oil shall be poured upon it and no frankincense shall be laid on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing.

¹⁶ The priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ The priest shall take sacral water in an earthen vessel and, taking some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tabernacle, the priest shall put it into the water. ¹⁸ After he has made the woman stand before the Lord, the priest shall bare the woman’s head and place upon her hands the meal offering of remembrance, which is a meal offering of jealousy. And in the priest’s hands shall be the water of bitterness that induces the spell. ¹⁹ The priest shall adjure the woman, saying to her, “If no man has lain with you, if you have not gone astray in defilement while married to your husband, be immune to harm from this water of bitterness that induces the spell. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and have defiled yourself, if a man other than your husband has had carnal relations with you” — ²¹ here the priest shall administer the curse of adjuration to the woman, as the priest goes on to say to the woman — “may the Lord make you a curse and an imprecation among your people, as the Lord causes your thigh to sag and your belly to distend; ²² may this water that induces the spell enter your body, causing the belly to distend and the thigh to sag.” And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!”

²³ The priest shall put these curses down in writing and rub it off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴ He is to make the woman drink the water of bitterness that induces the spell, so that the spell-inducing water may enter into her to bring on bitterness. ²⁵ Then the priest shall take from the woman’s hand the meal offering of jealousy, elevate the meal offering before the Lord, and present it on the altar. ²⁶The priest shall scoop out of the meal offering a token part of it and turn it into smoke on the altar. Last, he shall make the woman drink the water.

²⁷ Once he has made her drink the water — if she has defiled herself by breaking faith with her husband, the spell-inducing water shall enter into her to bring on bitterness, so that her belly shall distend and her thigh shall sag; and the woman shall become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able to retain seed.

²⁹ This is the ritual in cases of jealousy, when a woman goes astray while married to her husband and defiles herself, ³⁰ or when a fit of jealousy comes over a man and he is wrought up over his wife: the woman shall be made to stand before the Lord and the priest shall carry out all this ritual with her. ³¹The man shall be clear of guilt; but that woman shall suffer for her guilt.

Chapter 6
¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ² Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If anyone, man or woman, explicitly utters a nazirite’s vow, to set himself apart for the Lord, ³ he shall abstain from wine and any other intoxicant; he shall not drink vinegar of wine or of any other intoxicant, neither shall he drink anything in which grapes have been steeped, nor eat grapes fresh or dried. ⁴ Throughout his term as nazirite, he may not eat anything that is obtained from the grapevine, even seeds or skin.

⁵ Throughout the term of his vow as nazirite, no razor shall touch his head; it shall remain consecrated until the completion of his term as nazirite of the Lord, the hair of his head being left to grow untrimmed. ⁶ Throughout the term that he has set apart for the Lord, he shall not go in where there is a dead person. ⁷ Even if his father or mother, or his brother or sister should die, he must not defile himself for them, since hair set apart for his God is upon his head: ⁸ throughout his term as nazirite he is consecrated to the Lord.

⁹ If a person dies suddenly near him, defiling his consecrated hair, he shall shave his head on the day he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day. ¹⁰ On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹¹ The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make expiation on his behalf for the guilt that he incurred through the corpse. That same day he shall reconsecrate his head ¹² and rededicate to the Lord his term as nazirite; and he shall bring a lamb in its first year as a penalty offering. The previous period shall be void, since his consecrated hair was defiled.

¹³ This is the ritual for the nazirite: On the day that his term as nazirite is completed, he shall be brought to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁴ As his offering to the Lord he shall present: one male lamb in its first year, without blemish, for a burnt offering; one ewe lamb in its first year, without blemish, for a sin offering; one ram without blemish for an offering of well-being; ¹⁵ a basket of unleavened cakes of choice flour with oil mixed in, and unleavened wafers spread with oil; and the proper meal offerings and libations.

¹⁶ The priest shall present them before the Lord and offer the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷ He shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the priest shall also offer the meal offerings and the libations. ¹⁸ The nazirite shall then shave his consecrated hair, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and take the locks of his consecrated hair and put them on the fire that is under the sacrifice of well-being.

¹⁹ The priest shall take the shoulder of the ram when it has been boiled, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and place them on the hands of the nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair. ²⁰ The priest shall elevate them as an elevation offering before the Lord; and this shall be a sacred donation for the priest, in addition to the breast of the elevation offering and the thigh of gift offering. After that the nazirite may drink wine.

²¹ Such is the obligation of a nazirite; except that he who vows an offering to the Lord of what he can afford, beyond his nazirite requirements, must do exactly according to the vow that he has made beyond his obligation as a nazirite.

²² The Lord spoke to Moses: ²³ Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:
²⁴ The Lord bless you and protect you!
²⁵ The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!
²⁶ The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!
²⁷ Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

Chapter 7
¹ On the day that Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle, he anointed and consecrated it and all its furnishings, as well as the altar and its utensils. When he had anointed and consecrated them, ² the chieftains of Israel, the heads of ancestral houses, namely, the chieftains of the tribes, those who were in charge of enrollment, drew near ³ and brought their offering before the Lord: six draught carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two chieftains and an ox for each one.

When they had brought them before the Tabernacle, ⁴ the Lord said to Moses: ⁵ Accept these from them for use in the service of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the Levites according to their respective services.

⁶ Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. ⁷ Two carts and four oxen he gave to the Gershonites, as required for their service, ⁸ and four carts and eight oxen he gave to the Merarites, as required for their service — under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. ⁹ But to the Kohathites he did not give any; since theirs was the service of the [most] sacred objects, their porterage was by shoulder.

¹⁰ The chieftains also brought the dedication offering for the altar upon its being anointed. As the chieftains were presenting their offerings before the altar, ¹¹ the Lord said to Moses: Let them present their offerings for the dedication of the altar, one chieftain each day.

¹² The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah. ¹³ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ¹⁴ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ¹⁵ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ¹⁶ one goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.

¹⁸ On the second day, Nethanel son of Zuar, chieftain of Issachar, made his offering. ¹⁹ He presented as his offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ²⁰ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ²¹ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ²² one goat for a sin offering; ²³ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Nethanel son of Zuar.

²⁴ On the third day, it was the chieftain of the Zebulunites, Eliab son of Helon. ²⁵ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ²⁶ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ²⁷ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ²⁸ one goat for a sin offering; ²⁹ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Eliab son of Helon.

³⁰ On the fourth day, it was the chieftain of the Reubenites, Elizur son of Shedeur. ³¹ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ³² one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ³³ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ³⁴ one goat for a sin offering; ³⁵ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Elizur son of Shedeur.

³⁶ On the fifth day, it was the chieftain of the Simeonites, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. ³⁷ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ³⁸ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ³⁹ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁰ one goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

⁴² On the sixth day, it was the chieftain of the Gadites, Eliasaph son of Deuel. ⁴³ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁴⁴ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁴⁵ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁴⁶ one goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Eliasaph son of Deuel.

⁴⁸ On the seventh day, it was the chieftain of the Ephraimites, Elishama son of Ammihud. ⁴⁹ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁵⁰ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁵¹ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁵² one goat for a sin offering; ⁵³ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Elishama son of Ammihud.

⁵⁴ On the eighth day, it was the chieftain of the Manassites, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. ⁵⁵ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁵⁶ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁵⁷ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁵⁸ one goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

⁶⁰ On the ninth day, it was the chieftain of the Benjaminites, Abidan son of Gideoni. ⁶¹ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁶² one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁶³ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁶⁴ one goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.

⁶⁶ On the tenth day, it was the chieftain of the Danites, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ⁶⁷ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁶⁸ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁶⁹ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁰ one goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

⁷² On the eleventh day, it was the chieftain of the Asherites, Pagiel son of Ochran. ⁷³ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁷⁴ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁷⁵ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁷⁶ one goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Pagiel son of Ochran.

⁷⁸ On the twelfth day, it was the chieftain of the Naphtalites, Ahira son of Enan. ⁷⁹ His offering: one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in, for a meal offering; ⁸⁰ one gold ladle of 10 shekels, filled with incense; ⁸¹ one bull of the herd, one ram, and one lamb in its first year, for a burnt offering; ⁸² one goat for a sin offering; ⁸³ and for his sacrifice of well-being: two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, and five yearling lambs. That was the offering of Ahira son of Enan.

⁸⁴ This was the dedication offering for the altar from the chieftains of Israel upon its being anointed: silver bowls, 12; silver basins, 12; gold ladles, 12. ⁸⁵ Silver per bowl, 130; per basin, 70. Total silver of vessels, 2,400 sanctuary shekels. ⁸⁶ The 12 gold ladles filled with incense — 10 sanctuary shekels per ladle — total gold of the ladles, 120.

⁸⁷ Total of herd animals for burnt offerings, 12 bulls; of rams, 12; of yearling lambs, 12 — with their proper meal offerings; of goats for sin offerings, 12. ⁸⁸ Total of herd animals for sacrifices of well-being, 24 bulls; of rams, 60; of he-goats, 60; of yearling lambs, 60. That was the dedication offering for the altar after its anointing.

⁸⁹ When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would hear the Voice addressing him from above the cover that was on top of the Ark of the Pact between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.

Taken from Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society) 1985.
Used by permission of The Jewish Publication Society. Copyright © 1962, 1992
Third Edition by the Jewish Publication Society.
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