Numbers 15-16

Complete Jewish Bible

15 Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When you have come into the land where you are going to live, which I am giving to you, ³ and want to make an offering by fire to Adonai — a burnt offering or sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or to be a voluntary offering, or at your designated times, to make a fragrant aroma for Adonai — then, whether it is comes from the herd or from the flock, ⁴ the person bringing the offering is to present Adonai with a grain offering consisting of two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil, ⁵ and one quart of wine for the drink offering. This is what you are to prepare with the burnt offering or for each lamb sacrificed.

⁶ “‘For a ram, prepare one gallon of fine flour mixed with one-and-one-third quarts of olive oil; ⁷ while for the drink offering, you are to present one-and-one-third quarts of wine as a fragrant aroma for Adonai.

(v) ⁸ “‘When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering, as a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow or as peace offerings for Adonai, ⁹ there is to be presented with the bull a grain offering of one-and-a-half gallons of fine flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil. ¹⁰ For the drink offering, present two quarts of wine for an offering made by fire, a fragant aroma for Adonai.

¹¹ “‘Do it this way for each bull, ram, male lamb or kid. ¹² For as many animals as you prepare, do this for each one, regardless of how many animals there are.

¹³ “‘Every citizen is to do these things in this way when presenting an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai. ¹⁴ If a foreigner stays with you — or whoever may be with you, through all your generations — and he wants to bring an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for Adonai, he is to do the same as you. ¹⁵ For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before Adonai as yourselves. ¹⁶ The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you.’”

(vi) ¹⁷ Adonai said to Moshe, ¹⁸ “Speak to the people of Isra’el; tell them, ‘When you enter the land where I am bringing you ¹⁹ and eat bread produced in the land, you are to set aside a portion as a gift for Adonai. ²⁰ Set aside from your first dough a cake as a gift; set it aside as you would set aside a portion of the grain from the threshing-floor. ²¹ From your first dough you will give Adonai a portion as a gift through all your generations.

²² “‘If by mistake you fail to observe all these mitzvot that Adonai has spoken to Moshe, ²³ yes, everything that Adonai has ordered you to do through Moshe, from the day Adonai gave the order and onward through all your generations, ²⁴ then, if it was done by mistake by the community and was not known to them, the whole community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering as a fragrant aroma to Adonai, with its grain and drink offerings, in keeping with the rule, and one male goat as a sin offering. ²⁵ The cohen is to make atonement for the whole community of the people of Isra’el; and they will be forgiven; because it was a mistake; and they have brought their offering, an offering made by fire, to Adonai, and their sin offering before Adonai for their mistake. ²⁶ The whole community of the people of Isra’el will be forgiven, likewise the foreigner staying with them; because for all the people it was a mistake.

(vii) ²⁷ “‘If an individual sins by mistake, he is to offer a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. ²⁸ The cohen will make atonement before Adonai for the person who makes a mistake by sinning inadvertently; he will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven — ²⁹ no matter whether he is a citizen of Isra’el or a foreigner living with them. You are to have one law for whoever it is that does something wrong by mistake.

³⁰ “‘But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming Adonai. That person will be cut off from his people. ³¹ Because he has had contempt for the word of Adonai and has disobeyed his command, that person will be cut off completely; his offense will remain with him.’”

³² While the people of Isra’el were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on Shabbat. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moshe, Aharon and the whole congregation. ³⁴ They kept him in custody, because it had not yet been decided what to do to him. ³⁵ Then Adonai said to Moshe, “This man must be put to death; the entire community is to stone him to death outside the camp.” ³⁶ So the whole community brought him outside the camp and threw stones at him until he died, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(Maftir) ³⁷ Adonai said to Moshe, ³⁸ “Speak to the people of Isra’el, instructing them to make, through all their generations, tzitziyot on the corners of their garments, and to put with the tzitzit on each corner a blue thread. ³⁹ It is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of Adonai’s mitzvot and obey them, so that you won’t go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves; ⁴⁰ but it will help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God. ⁴¹ I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God. I am Adonai your God.”

Haftarah Shlach L’kha: Y’hoshua (Joshua) 2:1–24

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Shlach L’kha: Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 3:7–19

Parashah 38: Korach (Korah) 16:1–18:32

16 Now Korach the son of Yitz’har, the son of K’hat, the son of Levi, along with Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli’av, and On, the son of Pelet, descendants of Re’uven, took men and ² rebelled against Moshe. Siding with them were 250 men of Isra’el, leaders of the community, key members of the council, men of reputation. ³ They assembled themselves against Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “You take too much on yourselves! After all, the entire community is holy, every one of them, and Adonai is among them. So why do you lift yourselves up above Adonai’s assembly?”

⁴ When Moshe heard this he fell on his face. ⁵ Then he said to Korach and his whole group, “In the morning, Adonai will show who are his and who is the holy person he will allow to approach him. Yes, he will bring whomever he chooses near to himself. ⁶ Do this: take censers, Korach and all your group; ⁷ put fire in them; and put incense in them before Adonai tomorrow. The one whom Adonai chooses will be the one who is holy! It is you, you sons of Levi, who are taking too much on yourselves!”

⁸ Then Moshe said to Korach, “Listen here, you sons of Levi! ⁹ Is it for you a mere trifle that the God of Isra’el has separated you from the community of Isra’el to bring you close to himself, so that you can do the work in the tabernacle of Adonai and stand before the community serving them? ¹⁰ He has brought you close and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you. Now you want the office of cohen too! ¹¹ That’s why you and your group have gathered together against Adonai! After all, what is Aharon that you complain against him?”

¹² Then Moshe sent to summon Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eli’av. But they replied, “We won’t come up! ¹³ Is it such a mere trifle, bringing us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, that now you arrogate to yourself the role of dictator over us? (ii) ¹⁴ You haven’t at all brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, and you haven’t put us in possession of fields and vineyards. Do you think you can gouge out these men’s eyes and blind them? We won’t come up!”

¹⁵ Moshe was very angry and said to Adonai, “Don’t accept their grain offering! I haven’t taken one donkey from them, I’ve done nothing wrong to any of them.” ¹⁶ Moshe said to Korach, “You and your group, be there before Adonai tomorrow — you, they and Aharon. ¹⁷ Each of you take his fire pan and put incense in it; every one of you, bring before Adonai his fire pan, 250 fire pans, you too, and Aharon — each one his fire pan.”

¹⁸ Each man took his fire pan, put fire in it, laid incense on it and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting with Moshe and Aharon. ¹⁹ Korach assembled all the group who were against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then the glory of Adonai appeared to the whole assembly.

(iii) ²⁰ Adonai said to Moshe and Aharon, ²¹ “Separate yourselves from this assembly; I’m going to destroy them right now!” ²² They fell on their faces and said, “Oh God, God of the spirits of all humankind, if one person sins, are you going to be angry with the entire assembly?” ²³ Adonai answered Moshe, ²⁴ “Tell the assembly to move away from the homes of Korach, Datan and Aviram.” ²⁵ Moshe got up and went to Datan and Aviram, and the leaders of Isra’el followed him. ²⁶ There he said to the assembly, “Leave the tents of these wicked men! Don’t touch anything that belongs to them, or you may be swept away in all their sins.” ²⁷ So they moved away from all around the area where Korach, Datan and Aviram lived.

Then Datan and Aviram came out and stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons and little ones. ²⁸ Moshe said, “Here is how you will know that Adonai has sent me to do all these things and that I haven’t done them out of my own ambition: ²⁹ if these men die a natural death like other people, only sharing the fate common to all humanity, then Adonai has not sent me. ³⁰ But if Adonai does something new — if the ground opens up and swallows them with everything they own, and they go down alive to Sh’ol — then you will understand that these men have had contempt for Adonai.”

³¹ The moment he finished speaking, the ground under them split apart — ³² the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all the people who had sided with Korach and everything they owned. ³³ So they and everything they owned went down alive into Sh’ol, the earth closed over them and their existence in the community ceased. ³⁴ All Isra’el around them fled at their shrieks, shouting, “The earth might swallow us too!” ³⁵ Then fire came out from Adonai and destroyed the 250 men who had offered the incense.