Numbers 9
1 One year after the Israelis left Egypt, during the month of March, while they were in the Sinai Desert, Yahweh said to Moses/me,
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they came out from the land of Egypt. He said,
2 “Tell the Israeli people that they must celebrate the Passover [Festival again].
“Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its fixed time of year.
3 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].”
On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you must keep the Passover at its fixed time of year. You must keep it, follow all the regulations, and obey all the decrees that are related to it.”
4 So Moses/I told the people what Yahweh had said about celebrating the Passover.
So, Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Festival of the Passover.
5 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.
So they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. The people of Israel obeyed everything that Yahweh commanded Moses to do.
6 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,
There were certain men who became unclean by the body of a dead man. They could not keep the Passover on that day. They went before Moses and Aaron on that same day.
7 “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]?”
Those men said to Moses, “We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why do you keep us from offering the sacrifice to Yahweh at the fixed time of year among the people of Israel?”
8 Moses/I replied, “Wait here until I go into the Sacred Tent and find out what Yahweh says about it.”
Moses said to them, “Wait for me to hear what Yahweh will instruct about you.”
9 [So Moses/I went into the tent and asked Yahweh what he/I should tell the people], and this is what Yahweh said:
Yahweh spoke to Moses. He said,
10 “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.
“Speak to the people of Israel. Say, 'If any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body, or are on a long journey, he may still keep the Passover to Yahweh.'
11 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.
In the second month on the fourteenth day at evening, they will eat the Passover meal. They must eat the Passover lamb with bread that is made without yeast and with bitter herbs.
12 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.
They must not leave any of it until the morning, or break any of its bones. They must follow all the regulations for the Passover.
13 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).
But any person who is clean and is not on a journey, but who fails to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not offer the sacrifice that Yahweh requires at the fixed time of year. That man must carry his sin.
14 Foreigners who live among you may also celebrate the Passover Festival, if they obey all my commands concerning it.”
If a stranger lives among you and keeps the Passover in Yahweh's honor, he must keep it and do all he commands, keeping the rules of the Passover, and obeying the laws for it. You must have the same law for the foreigner and for all who have been born in the land.”
15 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].
On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant decrees. At evening the cloud was over the tabernacle. It appeared like fire until morning.
It continued that way. The cloud covered the tabernacle and appeared like fire at night.
17 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.
Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, the people of Israel would set out on their journey. Wherever the cloud stopped, the people would camp.
18 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.
At Yahweh's command, the people of Israel would travel, and at his command, they would camp. While the cloud stopped over the tabernacle, they would stay in their camp.
19 Sometimes the cloud stayed over the tent for a long time, so when that happened, we/they did not travel.
When the cloud remained on the tabernacle for many days, then the people of Israel would obey Yahweh's instructions and not travel.
20 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.
Sometimes the cloud remained a few days on the tabernacle. In that case, they would obey Yahweh's command—they would make camp and then travel on again at his command.
21 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.
Sometimes the cloud was present in camp from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they journeyed. If it continued for a day and for a night, only when the cloud lifted would they journey on.
22 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.
Whether the cloud stayed on the tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, for as long as it stayed there, the people of Israel would stay in their camp and not travel. But whenever the cloud was taken up, they would set out on their journey.
23 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.
They would camp at Yahweh's command, and they would travel at his command. They obeyed Yahweh's command given through Moses.
