Jacob’s Journey to Egypt

¹So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

²And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said.“Here I am,” replied Jacob.

³“I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

⁴I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will surely bring you back. And Joseph’s own hands will close your eyes.”

⁵Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and wives.

⁶They also took the livestock and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.

Those Who Went to Egypt

⁷Jacob took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

The Children of Leah

⁸Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

⁹The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁰The sons of Simeon: Jemuel,Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar,and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹²The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

¹³The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah,Job,and Shimron.

¹⁴The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵These are the sons of Leah born to Jacob in Paddan-aram,in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of sons and daughters was thirty-three.

The Children of Zilpah

¹⁶The sons of Gad: Ziphion,Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi,and Areli.

¹⁷The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

The Children of Rachel

¹⁹The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁰Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

²¹The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

²²These are the sons of Rachel born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

The Children of Bilhah

²³The son of Dan: Hushim.

²⁴The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵These are the sons of Jacob born to Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel—seven in all.

²⁶All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons.

²⁷And with the two sonswho had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventyin all.

Jacob Arrives in Egypt

²⁸Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen,

²⁹Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.

³⁰Then Israel said to Joseph, “Finally I can die, now that I have seen your face and know that you are still alive!”

³¹Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh: ‘My brothers and my father’s household from the land of Canaan have come to me.

³²The men are shepherds; they raise livestock, and they have brought their flocks and herds and all that they own.’

³³When Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’

³⁴you are to say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock ever since our youth—both we and our fathers.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

Forty-Two Journeys of the Israelites

¹These are the journeys of the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

²At the LORD’s command, Moses recorded the stages of their journey. These are the stages listed by their starting points:

³On the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the Passover, the Israelites set out from Rameses. They marched out defiantlyin full view of all the Egyptians,

⁴who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.

⁵The Israelites set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

⁶They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.

⁷They set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped near Migdol.

⁸They set out from Pi-hahirothand crossed through the sea, into the wilderness, and they journeyed three days into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.

⁹They set out from Marah and came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

¹⁰They set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

¹¹They set out from the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.

¹²They set out from the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³They set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴They set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

¹⁵They set out from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.

¹⁶They set out from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷They set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸They set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹They set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

²⁰They set out from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹They set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²²They set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³They set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴They set out from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵They set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶They set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷They set out from Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸They set out from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

²⁹They set out from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰They set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹They set out from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.

³²They set out from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

³³They set out from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴They set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵They set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.

³⁶They set out from Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.

³⁷They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the outskirts of the land of Edom.

³⁸At the LORD’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt.

³⁹Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰Now the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.

⁴¹And the Israelites set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴²They set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³They set out from Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵They set out from Iyimand camped at Dibon-gad.

⁴⁶They set out from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.

⁴⁷They set out from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarimfacing Nebo.

⁴⁸They set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

⁴⁹And there on the plains of Moab they camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.

Instructions for Occupying Canaan

⁵⁰On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,

⁵¹“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

⁵²you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

⁵³You are to take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

⁵⁴And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one by lot will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to the tribes of your fathers.

⁵⁵But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle.

⁵⁶And then I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

The Sin of Nadab and Abihu

¹Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense, and offered unauthorizedfire before the LORD, contrary to His command.

²So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.

³Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said:‘To those who come near MeI will show My holiness,and in the sight of all the peopleI will reveal My glory.’”But Aaron remained silent.

⁴Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan,sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry the bodies of your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.”

⁵So they came forward and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses had directed.

⁶Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveledand do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.

⁷You shall not go outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, or you will die, for the LORD’s anointing oil is on you.”So they did as Moses instructed.

Restrictions for Priests

⁸Then the LORD said to Aaron,

⁹“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.

¹⁰You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,

¹¹so that you may teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has given them through Moses.”

¹²And Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that remains from the food offerings to the LORD and eat it without leaven beside the altar, because it is most holy.

¹³You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the food offerings to the LORD; for this is what I have been commanded.

¹⁴And you and your sons and daughters may eat the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution in a ceremonially clean place, because these portions have been assigned to you and your children from the peace offerings of the sons of Israel.

¹⁵They are to bring the thigh of the contribution and the breast of the wave offering, together with the fat portions of the food offerings, to wave as a wave offering before the LORD. It will belong permanently to you and your children, as the LORD has commanded.”

¹⁶Later, Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked,

¹⁷“Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the holy place? For it is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the congregation by making atonement for them before the LORD.

¹⁸Since its blood was not brought inside the holy place, you should have eaten it in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.”

¹⁹But Aaron replied to Moses, “Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD. Since these things have happened to me, if I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been acceptable in the sight of the LORD?”

²⁰And when Moses heard this explanation, he was satisfied.

Give Praise, O Servants of the LORD

¹Hallelujah!Praise the name of the LORD.Give praise, O servants of the LORD,

²who stand in the house of the LORD,in the courts of the house of our God.

³Hallelujah, for the LORD is good;sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

⁴For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own,Israel as His treasured possession.

⁵For I know that the LORD is great;our Lord is above all gods.

⁶The LORD does all that pleases Himin the heavens and on the earth,in the seas and in all their depths.

⁷He causes the clouds to risefrom the ends of the earth.He generates the lightning with the rainand brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

⁸He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,of both man and beast.

⁹He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰He struck down many nationsand slaughtered mighty kings:

¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites,Og king of Bashan,and all the kings of Canaan.

¹²He gave their land as an inheritance,as a heritage to His people Israel.

¹³Your name, O LORD, endures forever,Your renown, O LORD, through all generations.

¹⁴For the LORD will vindicate His peopleand will have compassion on His servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,made by the hands of men.

¹⁶They have mouths, but cannot speak;they have eyes, but cannot see;

¹⁷they have ears, but cannot hear;nor is there breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make them become like them,as do all who trust in them.

¹⁹O house of Israel, bless the LORD;O house of Aaron, bless the LORD;

²⁰O house of Levi, bless the LORD;you who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!

²¹Blessed be the LORD from Zion—He who dwells in Jerusalem.Hallelujah!