Chukat

B'midbar 19:1 - 22:1
Num 19:1 YHVH said to Moshe and Aharon,
Num 19:2 "This is the regulation from the Torah which YHVH has commanded. Tell the people of Yisra’el to bring you a young red female cow without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke.
Num 19:3 You are to give it to El`azar the kohen; it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in front of him.
Num 19:4 El`azar the kohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle this blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.
Num 19:5 The heifer is to be burned to ashes before his eyes — its skin, meat, blood and dung is to be burned to ashes.
Num 19:6 The kohen is to take cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them onto the heifer as it is burning up.
Num 19:7 Then the kohen is to wash his clothes and himself in water, after which he may re-enter the camp; but the kohen will remain tam’ei until evening.
Num 19:8 The person who burned up the heifer is to wash his clothes and himself in water, but he will remain tam’ei until evening.
Num 19:9 A man who is tahor is to collect the ashes of the heifer and store them outside the camp in a tahor place. They are to be kept for the community of the people of Yisra’el to prepare water for purification from sin.
Num 19:10 The one who collected the ashes of the heifer is to wash his clothes and be tam’ei until evening. For the people of Yisra’el and for the foreigner staying with them this will be a permanent regulation.
Num 19:11 "Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, will be tam’ei for seven days.
Num 19:12 He must purify himself with [these ashes] on the third and seventh days; then he will be tahor. But if he does not purify himself the third and seventh days, he will not be tahor.
Num 19:13 Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, and does not purify himself has defiled the tabernacle of YHVH. That person will be cut off from Yisra’el, because the water for purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be tam’ei; his state of being tam’ei is still on him.
Num 19:14 "This is the law: when a person dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent and everything in the tent will be tam’ei for seven days.
Num 19:15 Every open container without a cover closely attached is tam’ei.
Num 19:16 Also whoever is in an open field and touches a corpse, whether of someone killed by a weapon or of someone who died naturally, or the bone of a person, or a grave, will be tam’ei for seven days.
Num 19:17 "For the tam’ei person they are to take some of the ashes of the animal burned up as a purification from sin and add them to fresh water in a container.
Num 19:18 A tahor person is to take a bunch of hyssop leaves, dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the containers, on the people who were there, and on the person who touched the bone or the person killed or the one who died naturally or the grave.
Num 19:19 The tahor person will sprinkle the tam’ei person on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day he will purify him; then he will wash his clothes and himself in water; and he will be tahor at evening.
Num 19:20 The person who remains tam’ei and does not purify himself will be cut off from the community because he has defiled the sanctuary of YHVH. The water for purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is tam’ei.
Num 19:21 This is to be a permanent regulation for them. The person who sprinkles the water for purification is to wash his clothes. Whoever touches the water for purification will be tam’ei until evening.
Num 19:22 Anything the tam’ei person touches will be tam’ei, and anyone who touches him will be tam’ei until evening."
Num 20:1 The people of Yisra’el, the whole community, entered the Tzin Desert in the first month, and they stayed in Kadesh. There Miryam died, and there she was buried.
Num 20:2 Because the community had no water, they assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon.
Num 20:3 The people quarreled with Moshe and said, "We wish we had died when our brothers died before YHVH.
Num 20:4 Why did you bring YHVH's community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock?
Num 20:5 Why did you make us leave Mitsrayim? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?"
Num 20:6 Moshe and Aharon left the assembly, went to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces; and the esteem of YHVH appeared to them.
Num 20:7 YHVH said to Moshe,
Num 20:8 "Take the staff, assemble the community, you and Aharon your brother; and before their eyes, tell the rock to produce its water. You will bring them water out of the rock and thus enable the community and their livestock to drink."
Num 20:9 Moshe took the staff from the presence of YHVH, as he had ordered him.
Num 20:10 But after Moshe and Aharon had assembled the community in front of the rock, he said to them, "Listen here, you rebels! Are we supposed to bring you water from this rock?"
Num 20:11 Then Moshe raised his hand and hit the rock twice with his staff. Water flowed out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank.
Num 20:12 But YHVH said to Moshe and Aharon, "Because you did not trust in me, so as to cause me to be regarded as kadosh by the people of Yisra’el, you will not bring this community into the land I have given them."
Num 20:13 This is M'rivah Spring [Disputation Spring], where the people of Yisra’el disputed with YHVH, and he was caused to be regarded as kadosh by them.
Num 20:14 Moshe sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: "This is what your brother Yisra’el says: you know all the troubles we have gone through —
Num 20:15 that our ancestors went down into Mitsrayim, we lived in Mitsrayim a long time, and the Mitsrites treated us and our ancestors badly.
Num 20:16 But when we cried out to YHVH, he heard us, sent a malachei and brought us out of Mitsrayim. Now here we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your territory.
Num 20:17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not go through fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King's Highway, not turning aside either to the right or to the left until we have left your territory."
Num 20:18 But Edom answered, "You are not to pass through my land; if you do, I will come out against you with the sword."
Num 20:19 The people of Yisra’el replied, "We will keep to the highway; if we do drink the water, either we or our livestock, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through on foot — it's nothing."
Num 20:20 But he said, "You are not to pass through"; and Edom came out against them with many people and much force.
Num 20:21 Thus Edom refused to allow Yisra’el passage through its territory, so Yisra’el turned away.
Num 20:22 They traveled on from Kadesh; and the people of Yisra’el, the whole community, arrived at Har Hor.
Num 20:23 At Har Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, YHVH said to Moshe and Aharon,
Num 20:24 "Aharon is about to be gathered to his people, because he is not to enter the land I have given to the people of Yisra’el, inasmuch as you rebelled against what I said at the M'rivah Spring.
Num 20:25 Take Aharon and El`azar his son, bring them up to Har Hor,
Num 20:26 remove the garments from Aharon and put them on El`azar his son. Aharon will be gathered to his people — he will die there."
Num 20:27 Moshe did as YHVH had ordered. They went up onto Har Hor before the eyes of the whole community.
Num 20:28 Moshe removed the garments from Aharon, and put them on El`azar his son, and Aharon died there on the top of the Harain. Then Moshe and El`azar came down the Harain.
Num 20:29 When the entire community saw that Aharon was dead, they mourned Aharon thirty days, the whole house of Yisra’el.
Num 21:1 Then the king of `Arad, a Kena`ani who lived in the Negev, heard that Yisra’el was approaching by way of Atarim, so he attacked Yisra’el and took some of them captive.
Num 21:2 Yisra’el made a vow to YHVH, "If you will hand this people over to me, I will completely destroy their cities."
Num 21:3 YHVH listened to what Yisra’el said and handed over the Kena`anim, so they completely destroyed them and their cities and named the place Hormah [complete destruction].
Num 21:4 Then they traveled from Har Hor on the road toward the Yam Suf in order to go around the land of Edom; but the people's tempers grew short because of the detour.
Num 21:5 The people spoke against Elohim and against Moshe: "Why did you bring us up out of Mitsrayim? To die in the desert? There's no real food, there's no water, and we're sick of this miserable stuff we're eating!"
Num 21:6 In response, YHVH sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Yisra’el's people died.
Num 21:7 The people came to Moshe and said, "We sinned by speaking against YHVH and against you. Pray to YHVH that he rid us of these snakes." Moshe prayed for the people,
Num 21:8 and YHVH answered Moshe: "Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live."
Num 21:9 Moshe made a bronze snake and put it on the pole; if a snake had bitten someone, then, when he looked toward the bronze snake, he stayed alive.
Num 21:10 The people of Yisra’el traveled on and camped at Ovot.
Num 21:11 From Ovot they traveled and camped at `Iyei-Ha`avarim, in the desert fronting Mo'av on the east.
Num 21:12 From there they traveled and camped in Vadi Zered.
Num 21:13 From there they traveled and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the desert; this river comes out of the territory of the Emori; for the Arnon is the boundary between Mo'av and the Emori.
Num 21:14 This is why it says, in the Book of the Wars of YHVH, ". . . Vahev at Sufah, the vadis of Arnon,
Num 21:15 and the slope of the vadis extending as far as the site of `Ar, which lie next to the territory of Mo'av."
Num 21:16 From there they went on to Be'er [well]; that is the well about which YHVH said to Moshe, "Assemble the people, and I will give them water."
Num 21:17 Then Yisra’el sang this song: "Spring up, oh well! Sing to the well
Num 21:18 sunk by the princes, dug by the people's leaders with the scepter, with their staffs!" From the desert they went to Mattanah,
Num 21:19 from Mattanah to Nachali'el, from Nachali'el to Bamot,
Num 21:20 and from Bamot to the valley by the plain of Mo'av at the start of the Pisgah range, where it overlooks the desert.
Num 21:21 Yisra’el sent messengers to Sichon, king of the Emori, with this message:
Num 21:22 "Let me pass through your land. We won't turn aside into fields or vineyards, and we won't drink any water from the wells. We will go along the King's Highway until we have left your territory."
Num 21:23 But Sichon would not allow Yisra’el to pass through his territory. Instead, Sichon mustered all his people and went out into the desert to fight Yisra’el. On reaching Yachatz, he fought Yisra’el.
Num 21:24 Yisra’el defeated him by force of arms and took control of his land from the Arnon to the Yabok River, but only as far as the people of `Amon, because the territory of the people of `Amon was well defended.
Num 21:25 Yisra’el took all these cities — Yisra’el lived in all the cities of the Emori, in Heshbon and all its surrounding towns.
Num 21:26 Heshbon was the city of Sichon, the king of the Emori, who had fought against the former king of Mo'av and conquered all his land up to the Arnon.
Num 21:27 This is why the storytellers say, "Come to Heshbon! Let it be rebuilt! Let Sichon's city be restored!
Num 21:28 "For fire burst out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sichon. It consumed `Ar of Mo'av, the lords of Arnon's high places.
Num 21:29 "Woe to you, Mo'av! You are destroyed, people of K'mosh! He let his sons be fugitives and his daughters captives of Sichon, king of the Emori.
Num 21:30 "We shot them down; Heshbon is destroyed, all the way to Divon. We even laid waste to Nofach, which extends as far as Meidva."
Num 21:31 Thus Yisra’el lived in the land of the Emori.
Num 21:32 Moshe sent men to reconnoiter Ya`zer; they captured its towns and drove out the Emori who were there.
Num 21:33 Then they turned and went up along the road to Bashan; and `Og, the king of Bashan, marched out against them, he with all his people, to fight at Edre`i.
Num 21:34 YHVH said to Moshe, "Don't be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with all his people and his land. You will treat him just as you did Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived at Heshbon."
Num 21:35 So they struck him down, with his sons and all his people, until there was no one left alive; and then they took control of his land.
Num 22:1 Then the people of Yisra’el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden River, opposite Yericho.