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vites as produce from the threshing floor, and as produce from 31 the press. And you may eat it every where, you and your households. Because it is your wages for your services which 32 you perform at the tabernacle of the testimony; therefore you shall not bear sin by reason of it, because you have set apart the first fruits of it. But you must not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, lest you die. XIX. Again the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, This is the purification of the law in respect to all the things 2 which the Lord hath enjoined, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and let them bring thee a red heifer, without blemish, which hath no spot in her, and on which there hath 3 never been put a yoke. And thou shalt give her to Eleazar the

priest; and they shall lead her out of the camp, to a clean 4 place, and kill her in his presence. And Eleazar shall take

some of the blood thereof, and shall sprinkle, over against the front of the tabernacle of the testimony, some of the blood 5 thereof, seven times. Then they shall burn her in his sight; 6 and when her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, and dung,

are burned, the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the midst of the cinders of 7 the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and wash

his whole body with water, and, after that, he shall come into 8 the camp. And the priest shall be unclean until the evening.

And he who burned her shall wash his clothes, and wash his 9 body with water, and be unclean until evening. And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them without the camp, in a clean place, and water of sprinkling shall be kept in store for the congregation of Israel. It is 10 a purification. And he who gathereth up the ashes of the

heifer, shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even11 ing. And it shall be for the children of Israel, and for the pro

selytes who have joined them, an everlasting ordinance, that whoever toucheth the dead body of a man shall be unclean 12 seven days. He shall be purified on the third, and on the seventh day, then he shall be clean: but if he be not purified on 13 the third, and on the seventh day, he shall not be clean. If any person, who hath touched the dead, die, without being purified, he hath defiled the tabernacle of the Lord; that soul shall

be blotted out from among Israel. Because the water of sprink14 ling hath not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean. His impurity is still in him. This also is the law, that if any man die in

a house, every one who goeth into the house, and all the things 15 in the house, shall be unclean seven days. And every open ves16 sel which hath not a cover fastened on it, is unclean. And every one who, in the open field, toucheth one slain, or dead, 17 or a human bone, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

Now, for one who is unclean, they shall take some of the 18 burnt ashes of the purification, and pour spring water thereon, in a vessel; and a man who is clean shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the house, and on the vessels, and on the persons who may be in the house, and on him who hath touched a human bone, or a man who 19 hath been slain, or one dead, or a grave. The clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean, on the third day, and on the seventh day. And on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and shall wash his clothes, and wash himself with water, and 20 be unclean until evening. And whoever shall be defiled, and not purified, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation, because he hath defiled the holy things of the Lord. Because the water of sprinkling hath not been sprinkled on him, he is un21 clean. And it shall be an everlasting statute for you, that he

who sprinkleth the water of sprinkling, shall wash his clothes; and he who toucheth the water of sprinkling shall be unclean 22 until evening: and whatever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the person who toucheth it shall be unclean until evening.

XX.

When the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Sin, in the first month, the people took up their abode at Kades; and there Mariam died, and there she 2 was buried. And there being no water for the congregation, 3 they assembled tumultuously against Moses and Aaron; and the people reviled Moses, and said, O! that we had died in the 4 destruction of our brethren before the Lord! Why have you

brought the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, to 5 kill us and our cattle? Why is this? Have you brought us out of Egypt, that we might come to this vile place—a place where no seed can be sown, where there are no fig trees, nor

6 vines, nor pomegranates, nor even water to drink? Whereupon Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the congregation, to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take thy staff, and as8 semble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother; and speak to that rock before them, and it will give its water. And you shall bring water for them from that rock, and give drink 9 to the congregation, and their cattle. So Moses took the staff 10 which was before the Lord, as the Lord commanded. And Mo

ses and Aaron assembled the congregation, at some distance over against the rock, and he said to them, Hear me, ye rebels! 11 Can we bring water for you out of this rock? Then Moses

lifted up his hand, and smote the rock twice with the staff, and there gushed out much water, so that the congregation, 12 and their cattle, drank. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you have not believed, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, therefore you shall not lead this congre13 gation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Strife, because the children of Israel uttered reproaches before the Lord, and he was hallowed among them.

14

Then Moses sent messengers from Kades, to the king of Edom, saying, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest 15 all the trouble that hath befallen us. Our fathers went down in16 to Egypt, and we have sojourned in Egypt many years. And

when the Egyptians ill treated us and our fathers, we cried to the Lord, and the Lord hearkened to our voice; and having sent a messenger he hath brought us out of Egypt, and we are 17 now at Kades, a city on the extremity of thy borders. Let us pass through thy land. We will not march through the fields, nor vineyards, nor drink water out of thy cisterns. We will march along the king's high way, and will not turn aside to the right, nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. 18 But Edom said to him, Thou shalt not pass through me. If 19 thou attempt it, I will come out to meet thee in battle. Where

upon the children of Israel said, Let us pass through along the mountains, and if I, or my cattle drink of thy water, I will make thee compensation. Grant but this. It is but a small 20 matter. Let us march through along the mountain. But he

said, Thou shalt not pass through me. And Edom came out 21 to meet him with a great multitude, and a strong hand. As Edom would not grant Israel a passage through his borders, 22 therefore they turned aside from him; and having removed from Kades, the Israelites-the whole congregation came to mount Hor.

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at mount Hor, on the borders of the land of Edom, saying, Let Aaron be 24 gathered to his people. For you shall not enter the land which

I have given the children of Israel for a possession, because 25 you provoked me at the water of strife. Take Aaron thy

brother, and Eleazar his son, and make them go up to mount 26 Hor, in the view of the whole congregation, and strip Aaron of

his robes, and put them on Eleazar his son: and let Aaron be 27 composed, and die there. So Moses did as the Lord com

manded him. And having taken them up to mount Hor, in 28 the view of the whole congregation, he stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron died on the top of the mount. And Moses and Eleazar came down 29 from the mount. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, the whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

XXI.

When the Chananite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in front of the wilderness, heard that Israel was coming by the 2 way of Atharim, he made war on Israel, and took some of them prisoners; whereupon Israel vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If thou wilt deliver this people into my hand, I will 3 devote them and their cities to destruction. And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up these Chananites into their hands, and they anathematised them and their cities, and called the name of that place Anathema.

4

Now when they had removed from mount Hor, by the way to the Red sea, and were marching round the land of Edom, the people became dispirited in the march, and spoke 5 against God, and against Moses, saying, Why hast thou brought us out of Egypt to kill us in this wilderness; for we have neither bread, nor water, and our soul loatheth this 6 light food. Whereupon the Lord sent the most deadly ser7 pents among the people, and they bit the people. And

when many of the children of Israel died, the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray therefore to the Lord, 8 and let him take away the serpents from us. So Moses prayed to the Lord for the people, and the Lord said to Moses, Make thee a serpent, and put it on a standard; and it shall come to pass that when a serpent biteth a man, every one who is bit9 ten shall live by looking at that. So Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it on a standard, and it came to pass that when a serpent bit a man, he looked up to that serpent, and lived.

10

And the Israelites removed, and encamped at Oboth; and 11 having removed from Oboth, they encamped at Achelgai, on the borders of the desart, which is in front of Moab, towards 12 the rising of the sun. And removing from that place, they en

camped in the vale of Zared, from which they removed, and 13 encamped on the banks of Arnon, in the wilderness, on the borders of the Amorites; for Arnon is the boundary of Moab, 14 between Moab and the Amorites. For this cause it is said in a book,

The war of the Lord burned Zoob and the vales of Arnon, 15 And made the vales the habitation of Er;

And he adjoineth the borders of Moab.

16 Thence they came to Well; this is the well concerning which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people together, and I will 17 give them water to drink. Then sung Israel this song to the well,

18

Begin to him the alternate song of the well.

Chiefs digged it: the kings of nations hewed it out,

In their reign when they ruled over them.

19 And from Well they moved on to Manthanaiem; and from 20 Manthanaeim to Naaliel; and from Naaliel to Bamoth; and

21

from Bamoth to Nepe, which is in that plain of Moab bordering on the craggy cliff, namely, that which looketh towards the wilderness.

Now Moses had sent messengers to Seon, king of the 22 Amorites, with a message of peace, saying, Let us pass through thy land. We will march by the highway; we will not turn aside into the fields, nor into the vineyards; nor will we drink water out of thy wells. Let us march along the king's highway,

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