Numbers 9
Rules for the Passover Festival
1 The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert. The Israelites had left Egypt. It was the second year after the Israelites had left that country. It was the first month during that year. The Lord said, 2 ‘The Israelites must eat the Passover meal at the proper time. 3 The proper time is during the evening of the 14th day of this month, when it starts to become dark. That is when you must eat it. You must obey all its rules and its laws.’
4 So Moses told the Israelites that they should eat the Passover feast. 5 They ate it in the first month, on the 14th day when it started to become dark. They were in the Sinai Desert. The Israelites did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses about it.
6 But there were some people who were not clean. That was because they had touched a dead body. So they could not eat the Passover on that day. They came to Moses and Aaron on that day. 7 They said to Moses, ‘We are not clean because we touched a dead body. But we would like to offer our gift to the Lord at the proper time with the other Israelites.’
8 So Moses said to them, ‘Wait here. I will ask the Lord about this.’
9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 ‘Say to the Israelites, “Anyone among you or your descendants may become unclean because of a dead body. Or they may be away because they are travelling. But they can still eat the Lord's Passover meal. 11 They must eat it during the evening of the 14th day of the second month, when it starts to become dark. They must eat the Passover lamb with bread and with bitter herbs. The bread must not have yeast in it. 12 They must not keep any of the food until the next morning. They must not break any of the bones of the lamb. And they must obey all the rules about the Passover.
13 But a person might be clean and he might not have travelled away from home. If that person chooses not to eat the Passover meal, you must remove him from his people. That is because he did not offer the proper sacrifices to the Lord at the right time. He must receive the punishment for his sin.
14 Foreign people may also eat the Lord's Passover meal, if they are living among you. But they must obey all the rules about the Passover Festival. The rules are the same for a foreign person as they are for an Israelite.” ’
A cloud covers the tabernacle
15 On the day that Moses put up the tabernacle, a cloud covered it. In the evening the cloud looked like a fire over the tent, until morning. 16 It continued to be like this. The cloud covered it during the day. But at night, the cloud seemed to have fire in it. 17 When the cloud went up from above the tent, the Israelites started to travel. When the cloud came down again, the Israelites made their camp in that place. 18 In this way, the Lord decided when the Israelites should start to travel. He also decided where they should stop and make their camp. During all the time that the cloud was over the tabernacle, they stayed in their camp. 19 Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites obeyed the Lord. They did not start to travel.
20 Sometimes the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for a few days. Then they remained in their camp. When the Lord showed them that they should travel, they started to travel. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed there from evening until morning. When the cloud went up in the morning, they started to travel. Whenever the cloud went up, in the day or in the night, they started to travel again. 22 Sometimes the cloud continued to be above the tabernacle for two days or for a month or for a year. It stayed above it. Then, the Israelites stayed in their camp. They did not start to travel. But when it went up, they did start to travel. 23 The Lord decided when they should make their camp. And the Lord decided when they should start to travel. So they obeyed the Lord about everything that the Lord said to Moses.
