Numbers 9
The full text of Numbers 9 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said:
2 "Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at its appointed time.
3 Celebrate it at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, at its appointed time. You must keep it in accordance with all its statutes and regulations."
4 So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover,
5 and they kept it in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
6 But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean from contact with a dead body. So they came before Moses and Aaron that same day
7 and said to Moses, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the LORD's offering with the other Israelites at its appointed time?"
8 Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you."
9 Then the LORD said to Moses,
10 "Tell the Israelites: When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body, or are away on a long journey, they may still celebrate the LORD's Passover.
11 They are to celebrate it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. They are to keep the Passover in accordance with all its statutes.
13 But if anyone who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, they are to be cut off from their people for not presenting the LORD's offering at its appointed time. They will bear the consequences of their sin.
14 "A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the LORD's Passover must do so in accordance with its statutes and regulations. You are to have the same statute for the foreigner and the native-born."
15 On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.
16 That is how it continued to be: the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.
17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; and wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites camped.
18 At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at the LORD's command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
19 When the cloud stayed over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out.
20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would camp, and then at the LORD's command they would set out.
21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.
22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year, as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
23 At the LORD's command they camped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
Translation notes (8)
- Numbers 9:3a The phrase "At twilight" translates the Hebrew beyn ha-arbayim, which literally means "between the two evenings." This period is traditionally understood as between sunset and full dark, or alternatively, between afternoon decline and sunset. The exact boundary was debated in ancient times.
- Numbers 9:6a The phrase "Unclean from contact with a dead body" translates the Hebrew teme'im le-nephesh adam, meaning ritually defiled "by a human corpse." In this context, nephesh refers to a dead person. This refers to corpse impurity, not moral guilt.
- Numbers 9:10a The phrase "Any of you" translates the Hebrew distributive form ish ish, meaning "a person, a person," which emphasizes each individual case. "On a long journey" translates be-derekh rechoqah, meaning on a distant road, far from the sanctuary.
- Numbers 9:13a The phrase "Cut off from their people" refers to the karet penalty (ve-nikhretah... me-ammeyha). The precise meaning of this penalty is debated, with interpretations including divine premature death, exclusion from the covenant community, or being denied descendants. The text states the penalty without defining its mechanism, and that ambiguity is preserved. "Bear the consequences of their sin" translates chet'o yissa, which literally means "that person will carry their sin."
- Numbers 9:14a The phrase "Foreigner residing among you" translates the Hebrew word ger, which refers to a resident alien who has joined the community, distinct from a passing stranger. "Native-born" translates ezrach ha-arets, meaning one born in the land.
- Numbers 9:15a "The tent of the covenant law" translates the Hebrew 'ohel ha-'edut, meaning "the tent of the testimony" or "covenant." It is named for the covenant tablets kept in the ark inside it.
- Numbers 9:18a The phrase "At the LORD's command" translates the Hebrew al pi YHWH, which literally means "by the mouth of the LORD." This refers to the signal of the cloud functioning as the LORD's spoken order.
- Numbers 9:22a The phrase "A year" translates the Hebrew word yamim, which literally means "days." In this context, yamim idiomatically refers to "a year" or "a long period," as seen in the sequence "two days... a month... yamim."
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Numbers, is free to read here on the web.
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