1

4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to thee.

5 Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, wherewith they murmur against you.

6 And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and all the princes gave him rods one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron.

7 And when Moses had laid them up before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony:

8 He returned on the following day, and found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded:* and that the buds swelling it had bloomed blossoms, which spreading the leaves, were formed into almonds.

9 Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw and every one received their rods.

10 And the Lord said to Moses: Carry back the rod of Aarón into the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be kept there for a token of the rebellious children of Israel, and that their complaints may cease from me lest they die.

11 And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. 12 And the children of Israel said to Moses: Behold, we are consumed, we all perish. 13 Whosoever approacheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth. Are we all to a man to be utterly destroyed?

CHAP. XVIII.

The charge of the priests, and of the Levites, and their portion.

A ND the Lord said to Aaron: Thou, and thy sons, and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary:† and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the sins of your priesthood.

things that are sanctified by the children of Israel, I have delivered to thee and to thy sons for the priestly office, by everlasting ordinances.

9 These therefore shalt thou take of the things that are sanctified, and are offered to the Lord. Every offering, and sacrifice, and whatsoever is rendered to me for sin and for trespass, and becometh holy of holies, shall be for thee and thy sons.

10 Thou shalt eat it in the sanctuary: the males only shall eat thereof, because it is a consecrated thing.

11 But the first-fruits, which the children of Israel shall vow and offer, I have given to thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters, by a perpetual law. He that is clean in thy house, shall eat them.

12 All the best of the oil, and of the wine, and of the corn, whatsoever first-fruits they offer to the Lord, I have given them to thee.

13 All the first ripe of the fruits, that the ground bringeth forth, and which are brought to the Lord, shall be for thy use: he that is clean in thy house, shall eat them.

14 Every thing that the children of Israel shall give by vow, shall be thine.

15 Whatsoever is first-born of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it be of men, or of beasts, shall belong to thee: only for the firstborn of man thou shalt take a price; and every beast that is unclean thou shalt cause to be redeemed:

16 And the redemption of it shall be after one month, for five sicles of silver, by the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

17 But the firstling of a cow, and of a sheep, and of a goat, thou shalt not cause to be redeemed, because they are sanctified to the Lord. Their blood only thou shalt pour upon the altar: and their fat thou shalt burn for a most sweet odour to the Lord.

be thine.

3 And the Levites shall watch to do thy commands, and about all the works of the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary, nor the altar, lest both they die, and you also perish with them.

4 But let them be with thee, and watch in the charge of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. A stranger shall not join himself with you.

5 Watch ye in the charge of the sanctuary, and in the ministry of the altar: lest indignation rise upon the children of Israel.

6 I have given you your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; and have delivered them for a gift to the Lord, to serve in the ministries of the tabernacle.

19 All the first-fruits of the sanctuary which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy sons and daughters, by a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, to thee and to thy sons.

20 And the Lord said to Aaron: You shall possess nothing in their land; neither shall you have a portion among them: I am thy portion and inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel.

21 And I have given to the sons of Levi all the tithes of Israel for a possession, for the ministry wherewith they serve me in the tabernacle of the covenant:

22 That the children of Israel may not approach any more to the tabernacle, nor commit deadly sin,

8 And the Lord said to Aaron: Behold, I have

*The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded, &c. This rod of Aaron which thus miraculously brought forth fruit, was a figure of the blessed virgin conceiving and bringing forth her son without any prejudice to her virginity.

+ Thou and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. That is, you shall be punished, if, through negligence or want of due attention, you err in the discharge of the sacred functions for which you were ordained.

25 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 26 Command the Levites, and declare unto them: When you shall receive of the children of Israel the tithes, which I have given you, offer the

A covenant of salt. It is a proverbial expression, signifying a covenant not to be altered or corrupted; as salt is used to keep things from corruption: a covenant perpetual, like that by which it was appointed that salt should be used in every sacrifice. Levit. ii.

& Deadly sin. That is, sin which will bring death after it.

first-fruits of them to the Lord, that is to say, the tenth part of the tenth:

27 That it may be reckoned to you as an oblation of first-fruits, as well of the barn-floors as of the wine-presses:

29 And of all the things of which you receive tithes, offer the first-fruits to the Lord, and give them to Aaron the priest.

29 All the things that you shall offer of the tithes, and shall separate for the gifts of the Lord, shall be the best and choicest things.

30 And thou shalt say to them: If you offer all the goodly and the better things of the tithes, it shall be reckoned to you as if you had given the first-fruits of the barn-floor and the wine-press: 31 And you shall eat them in all your places, both you and your families: because it is your reward for the ministry, wherewith you serve in the tabernacle of the testimony.

32 And you shall not sin in this point, by reserving the choicest and fat things to yourselves; lest you profane the oblations of the children of Israel, and die.

CHAP. XIX.

The law of the sacrifice of the red cow, and the water of expiation.

ND the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron,

Aaying

2 This is the observance of the victim, which the Lord hath ordained. Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee a red cow* of full age, in which there is no blemish, and which hath not carried the yoke:

3 And you shall deliver her to Eleazar the priest, who shall bring her forth without the camp, and shall immolate her in the sight of all:

4 And dipping his finger in her blood, shall sprinkle it over-against the door of the tabernacle seven times;

5 And shall burn her in the sight of all, delivering up to the fire her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, and her dung.

6 The priest shall also take cedar-wood, and

hyssop, and scarlet twice dyed, and cast it into the flame, with which the cow is consumed.

7 And then after washing his garments and body, he shall enter into the camp, and shall be unclean until the evening.

8 He also that hath burned her, shall wash his garments and his body, and shall be unclean until the evening.

9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow, and shall pour them forth without the camp in a most clean place, that they may be reserved for the multitude of the children of Israel, and for a water of aspersion: because the cow was burnt for sin.

10 And when he that carried the ashes of the cow, hath washed his garments, he shall be unclean until the evening. The children of Israel, and the strangers that dwell among them, shall observe this for a holy thing by a perpetual ordi

nance.

11 He that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is therefore unclean seven days,

12 Shall be sprinkled with this water on the third day, and on the seventh, and so shall be cleansed. If he were not sprinkled on the third day, he cannot be cleansed on the seventh.

13 Every one that toucheth the corpse of a inan, and is not sprinkled with this mixture, shall profane the tabernacle of the Lord, and shall per

the

ish out of Israel: because he was not sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his uncleanness shall remain upon him.

14 This is the law of a man that dieth in a tent: All that go into his tent, and all the vessels that are there, shall be unclean seven days.

15 The vessel that hath no cover, nor binding over it, shall be unclean.

a

16 If any man in the field touch the corpse of man that was slain, or that died of himself, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean seven days.

17 And they shall take of the ashes of the burning and of the sin-offering, and shall pour living waters upon them into a vessel.

18 And a man that is clean shall dip hyssop in them, and shall sprinkle therewith all the tent, and all the furniture, and the men that are defiled with touching any such thing:

19 And in this manner he that is clean shall purify the unclean on the third and on the seventh day. And being expiated the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and be unclean until the evening.

20 If any man be not expiated after this rite, his soul shall perish out of the midst of the church: because he hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, and was not sprinkled with the water of purification.

21 This precept shall be an ordinance for ever. He also that sprinkleth the water, shall wash his garments. Every one that shall touch the waters of expiation, shall be unclean until the evening.

22 Whatsoever a person toucheth who is unclean, he shall make it unclean: and the person that toucheth any of these things, shall be unclean until the evening.

CHAP. XX.

The

The death of Mary the sister of Moses. people murmur for want of water: God giveth it them from the rock. The death of Aaron.

AND the children of Israel, and all the multi

tude came into the desert of Sin, in the first month: and the people abode in Cades. And Mary died there, and was buried in the same place.

2 And the people wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron:

3 And making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before

the Lord.

4 Why have you brought out the church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die?

5 Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place, which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink?

6 And Moses and Aaron, leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 8 Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother; and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink.

11 And when Moses had lifted up his hand,| and struck the rock* twice with the rod, there

CHAP. XXI.

12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believedt me, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, you shall not

and are punished with fiery serpents; they are healed by the brazen serpent. They conquer the kings Sehon and Og.

ND when king Arad the Chanaanite, who

them.

14 In the mean time, Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, to say: Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the labour that hath come upon us:

15 In what manner our fathers went down into Egypt, and there we dwelt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us, and our fathers:

17 And we beseech thee that we may have leave to pass through thy country. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards; we will not drink the waters of thy wells; but we will go by the common highway, neither turning aside to the right hand, nor to the left, till we are past thy borders.

18 And Edom answered them: Thou shalt not pass by me: if thou dost, I will come out armed against thee.

19 And the children of Israel said: We will go by the beaten way: and if we and our cattle drink of thy waters, we will give thee what is just: there shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us pass speedily.

20 But he answered: Thou shalt not pass. And immediately he came forth to meet them with an infinite multitude, and a strong hand:

21 Neither would he condescend to their desire to grant them passage through his borders. Wherefore Israel turned another way from him. 22 And when they had removed the camp from Cades, they came to mount Hor, which is in the borders of the land of Edom:

23 Where the Lord spoke to Moses;

24 Let Aaron, saith he, go to his people: for he shall not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because he was incredulous to my words, at the waters of contradiction.

25 Take Aaron and his son with him, and bring them up into mount Hor:

26 And when thou hast stripped the father of his vesture, thou shalt vest therewith Eleazar his son: Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and die there.

27 Moses did as the Lord had commanded: and they went up into mount Hor, before all the inultitude.

28 And when he had stript Aaron of his vestments, he vested Eleazar his son with them. 29 And Aaron being dead in the top of the mountain, he came down with Eleazar. 30 And all the multitude seeing that Aaron was dead, mourned for him thirty days throughout all their families.

The rock. This rock was a figure of Christ, and the water that issued out from the rock, of his precious blood, the source of all our good.

5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food.| ̧

6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them, and killed many of them.

7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people:

8 And the Lord said to him: Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live.

9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent,** and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.

10 And the children of Israel setting forwards camped in Oboth.

11 And departing thence, they pitched their tents in Jeabarim, in the wilderness, that faceth Moab toward the east.

12 And removing from thence, they came to the torrent Zared:

13 Which they left and encamped over-against Arnon, which is in the desert, and standeth out in the borders of the Amorrhite. For Arnon is the border of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorrhites.

14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the warstt of the Lord: As he did in the Red Sea, so will he do in the streams of Arnon.

15 The rocks of the torrents were bowed down that they might rest in Ar, and lie down in the borders of the Moabites.

16 When they went from that place, the well appeared, whereof the Lord said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them

water.

§ Anathema. That is, a thing devoted to utter destruction.

Very light food. So they called the heavenly manna: thus, worldlings loath the things of heaven, for which they have no relish.

Fiery serpents. They are so called, because they that were bitten by them were burnt with a violent heat.

The Water of contradiction, or strife. brew, Meribah.

He

+ The book of the wars, &c. An ancient book, which, like several others quoted in scripture, has been lost.

17 Then Israel sung this song: Let the well spring up. They sung thereto;

18 The well, which the princes dug, and the chiefs of the people prepared by the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staves. And they marched from the wilderness to Mathana.

19 From Mathana unto Nahaliel; from NahaTiel unto Bamoth.

20 From Bamoth is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looketh towards the desert.

21 And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, saying:

22 I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields or the vineyards; we will not drink waters of the wells: we will go the king's highway, till we be past thy borders.

23 And he would not grant that Israel should pass by his borders: but rather gathering an army, went forth to meet them in the desert, and came to Jasa, and fought against them.

24 And he was slain by them with the edge of the sword: and they possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jeboc, and to the confines of the children of Ammon: for the borders of the Ammonites were kept with a strong garrison.

25 So Israel took all his cities, and dwelt in the cities of the Amorrhite, to wit, in Hesebon, and in the villages thereof.

26 Hesebon was the city of Sehon, the king of the Amorrhites, who fought against the king of Moab, and took all the land, that had been of his dominions, as far as the Arnon.

27 Therefore it is said in the proverb: Come into Hesebon; let the city of Sehon be built and set up:

28 A fire is gone out of Hesebon, a flame from the city of Sehon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the high places of the Arnon.

29 Woe to thee, Moab: thou art undone, O people of Chamos. He hath given his sons to flight, and his daughters into captivity to Schon the king of the Amorrhites.

30 Their yoke is perished from Hesebon unto Dibon: they came weary to Nophe, and unto Medlaba.

son of Beor, a soothsayer, who dwelt by the river of the land of the children of Ammon, to call him, and to say: Behold, a people is come out of Egypt, that hath covered the face of the earth, sitting over-against me.

6 Come therefore, and curse this people, because it is mightier than I; if by any means I may beat them and drive them out of my land: for I know, that he whom thou shalt bless is blessed; and he whom thou shalt curse is cursed.

7 And the ancients of Moab, and the elders of Madian went with the price of divination in their hands. And when they were come to Balaam, and had told him all the words of Balac:

8 He answered: Tarry here this night, and I will answer whatsoever the Lord shall say to me. And while they stayed with Balaam, God came and said to him:

9 What mean these men that are with thee? 10 He answered: Balac the son of Sephor king of the Moabites hath sent to me,

11 Saying: Behold, a people that is come out of Egypt, hath covered the face of the land: come and curse them, if by any means I may fight with them and drive them away.

12 And God said to Balaam: Thou shalt not go with them, nor shalt thou curse the people: because it is blessed.

13 And he rose in the morning, and said to the princes: Go into your country, because the Lord hath forbid me to come with you.

14 The princes returning, said to Balac: Balaam would not come with us.

15 Then he sent many more and more noble than he had sent before:

16 Who, when they were come to Balaam, said: Thus saith Balac the son of Sephor: Delay not to come to me:

17 For I am ready to honour thee, and will give thee whatsoever thou wilt: come and curse this people.

18 Balaam answered: If Balac would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot alter the word of the Lord my God, to speak either more or less.

19 I pray you to stay here this night also, that I may know what the Lord will answer me once

more.

And they turned themselves, and went up by the way of Basan: and Og the king of Basan, came against them with all his people, to fight in Edrai

34 And the Lord said to Moses: Fear him not, for I have delivered him and all his people, and his country into thy hand: and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sehon the king of the Amorrhites, the inhabitant of Hesebon.

35 So they slew him also with his sons, and all his people, not letting any one escape: and they possessed his land.

CHAP. XXII.

To stay. His desiring them to stay, after he

is situate beyond the Jordan.

2 And Balac the son of Sephor seeing all that Israel had done to the Amorrhite,

3 And that the Moabites were in great fear of him, and were not able to sustain his assault,

4 He said to the elders of Madian: So will this people destroy all that dwell in our borders, as the ox is wont to eat the grass to the very roots. Now he was at that time king in Moab.

5 He sent therefore messengers to Balaam the

God's will he should go, came from the inclination he had to gratify Balac for the sake of worldly gain. And this perverse disposition God punished by permitting him to go (though not to curse the people as he would willingly have done) and suffering him to fall still deeper and deeper into sin, till he came at last to give that abominable counsel against the people of God, which ended in his own destruction. So sad a thing it is to indulge a passion for money.

staff.

ites:

30 The ass said: Am not I thy beast, on which thou hast been always accustomed to ride until this present day? tell me if I ever did the like thing to thee. But he said: Never.

31 Forthwith the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam; and he saw the Angel standing in the way with a drawn sword; and he worshipped him, falling flat on the ground.

32 And the Angel said to him: Why beatest thou thy ass these three times? I am come to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse,t and contrary to me:

33 And unless the ass had turned out of the way, giving place to me who stood against thee, I had slain thee, and she should have lived.

34 Balaam said: I have sinned, not knowing that thou didst stand against me: and now if it displease thee that I go, I will return.

35 The Angel said: Go with these men, and see thou speak no other thing than what I shall command thee. He went therefore with the princes.

36 And when Balac heard it, he came forth to meet him in a town of the Moabites, that is situate in the uttermost borders of Arnon.

37 And he said to Balaam: I sent messengers to call thee, why didst thou not come immediately to me? was it because I am not able to reward thy coming?

38 He answered him: Lo, here I am: shall I have power to speak any other thing but that which God shall put in my mouth?

a

39 So they went on together, and came into city, that was in the uttermost borders of his kingdom.

40 And when Balac had killed oxen and sheep, he sent presents to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.

41 And when morning was come, he brought him to the high places of Baal: and he beheld the uttermost part of the people.

CHAP. XXIII.

Balaam instead of cursing Israel, is obliged to bless them, and prophesy good things of them.

ND Balaam said to Balac: Build me here

A seven altars, and prepare as many calves,

and the same number of rams.

2 And when he had done according to the word of Balaam, they laid together a calf and a ram upon every altar.

3 And Balaam said to Balac: Stand a while by thy burnt-offering, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet me; and whatsoever he shall command, I will speak to thee.

9 I shall see him from the tops of the rocks, and shall consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and know the number of the stock of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them.

11 And Balac said to Balaam: What is this that thou doest? I sent for thee to curse my enemies: and thou contrariwise blessest them.

12 He answered him: Can I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth?

13 Balac therefore said: Come with me to another place from whence thou mayst see part of Israel, and canst not see them all: curse them from thence.

14 And when he had brought him to a high place, upon the top of mount Phasga, Balaam built seven altars, and laying on every one a calf and a ram,

15 He said to Balac: Stand here by thy burntoffering while I go to meet him.

16 And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him.

17 Returning he found him standing by his burnt-sacrifice, and the princes of the Moabites with him. And Balac said to him: What hath the Lord spoken?

18 But he taking up his parable, said: Stand, O Balac, and give ear: hear, thou son of Sephor:

19 God is not as a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he said then, and will he not do? hath he spoken, and will he not fulfil?

20 I was brought to bless; the blessing I am not able to hinder.

21 There is no idol in Jacob, neither is there an image-god to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him; and the sound of the victory of the king in him.

22 God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose strength is like to the rhinoceros.

23 There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In their times it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath wrought.

24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a lioness, and shall lift itself up as a lion: it shall not lie down till it devour the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

25 And Balac said to Balaam: Neither curse, nor bless him.

26 And he said: Did I not tell thee, that whatsoever God should command me, that I would

do?

calf and a ram.

30 Balac did as Balaam had said: and he laid on every altar, a calf and a ram.