Numbers 9

1 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 keep the Passover in its appointed season.

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

3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season. You shall keep it according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances.”

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 Moses told 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 They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.

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 There were certain men who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and 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 Those men said to him, “We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer the offering of the LORD in its appointed season amongst 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 Moses answered them, “Wait, that I may 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 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 “Say to the children of Israel, ‘If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still 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 In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall 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 until the morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statute 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 who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn’t offer 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 “‘If a foreigner lives amongst you and desires to keep the Passover to the LORD, then he shall do so according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its ordinance. You shall have one statute, both for the foreigner and for him who is born in the land.’”

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

15 On the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony. At evening it was over the tabernacle, as it were the appearance of fire, until 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 continually. The cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.

17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children of Israel travelled; and in the place where the cloud remained, there the children of Israel encamped.

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 travelled, and at the commandment of the LORD they encamped. As long as the cloud remained on the tabernacle they remained encamped.

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 When the cloud stayed on the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the LORD’s command, and didn’t travel.

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

20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days on the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of the LORD they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of the LORD they travelled.

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 Sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they travelled; or by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they travelled.

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 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, remaining on it, the children of Israel remained encamped, and didn’t travel; but when it was taken up, they travelled.

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 encamped, and at the commandment of the LORD they travelled. They kept the LORD’s command, at the commandment of the LORD by 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.