1 The Lord spoke further to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two trumpets of silver; you shall make them of hammered work. You shall use them to summon the congregation and to have the camps move out. 3 When both are blown, all the congregation [that is, all adult males] shall gather before you at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 4 However, if a single trumpet is blown, then the leaders, heads of the tribes of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow an alarm, the camps on the east side [of the tabernacle] shall set out. 6 When you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps on the south side [of the tabernacle] shall set out. They shall blow an alarm whenever they are to move out [on their journeys]. 7 When the assembly is to be gathered, you shall blow [the trumpets in short, sharp tones], but without sounding an alarm. 8 The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and the trumpets shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations. 9 When you go to war in your land against the enemy that attacks you, then sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. 10 Also in the day of rejoicing, and in your appointed feasts, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifice of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”
11 On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year [since leaving Egypt], the cloud [of the Lord’s presence] was lifted from over the tabernacle of the Testimony, 12 and the Israelites set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud [of the Lord’s guiding presence] settled down in the Wilderness of Paran. 13 So they moved out for the first time in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the sons of Judah, according to their armies, moved out first, Nahshon the son of Amminadab was [commander] over its army, 15 and Nethanel the son of Zuar was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar; 16 and Eliab the son of Helon was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.
17 Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, moved out. 18 Next the standard of the camp of the sons of Reuben, according to their armies, moved out, with Elizur the son of Shedeur [commander] over its army, 19 and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon, 20 and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.
21 Then the Kohathites moved out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before they arrived. 22 Next the standard of the camp of the sons of Ephraim moved out, according to their armies, with Elishama the son of Ammihud [commander] over its army, 23 and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh, 24 and Abidan the son of Gideoni was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.
25 Then the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan, according to their armies, which formed the rear guard for all the camps, moved out, with Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai [commander] over its army, 26 and Pagiel the son of Ochran was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Asher, 27 and Ahira the son of Enan was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali. 28 This was the order of march of the sons of Israel by their armies as they moved out.
29 Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are going to the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will be good to you, for the Lord has promised good [things] concerning Israel.” 30 But Hobab [Moses’ brother-in-law] said to him, “I will not go; I will return to my own land and to my family.” 31 Then Moses said, “Please do not leave us, for you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us [as we make our trek through the desert]. 32 So if you will go with us, it shall be that whatever good the Lord does for us, we will do the same for you.”
33 So they set out from the mountain of the Lord (Sinai) three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during the three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them. 34 The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.
35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses said,
“Rise up, O Lord!
Let Your enemies be scattered;
And let those who hate You flee before You.”
36 And when the ark rested, Moses said,
“Return, O Lord,
To the myriad (many) thousands of Israel.”
1 God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable],
A very present and well-proved help in trouble.
2
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,
3
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble at its roaring. Selah.
4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5
God is in the midst of her [His city], she will not be moved;
God will help her when the morning dawns.
6
The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
7
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
8
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
Who has brought desolations and wonders on the earth.
9
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
11
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.
1 O clap your hands, all you people;
Shout to God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy.
2
For the Lord Most High is to be feared [and worshiped with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];
He is a great King over all the earth.
3
He subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
4
He chooses our inheritance for us,
The glory and excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
5
God has ascended amid shouting,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises in a skillful psalm and with understanding.
8
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
9
The princes of the people have gathered together as the people of the God of Abraham,
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is highly exalted.
1 “Oh, that you were like a brother to me,
Who nursed at the breasts of my mother.
If I found you out of doors, I would kiss you;
No one would blame me or despise me, either.
2
“I would lead you and bring you
Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me;
I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.
3
“Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.”
4
“I command you to take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That you do not rouse nor awaken my love
Until she pleases.”
5
“Who is this coming up from the wilderness
Leaning upon her beloved?”
“Under the apple tree I awakened you [to my love];
There your mother was in labor with you,
There she was in labor and gave you birth.
6
“Put me like a seal on your heart,
Like a seal on your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy is as severe and cruel as Sheol (the place of the dead).
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
[A most vehement flame] the very flame of the Lord!
7
“Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can rivers drown it.
If a man would offer all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly scorned and despised.”
8
“We have a little sister
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for [in marriage]?
9
“If she is a wall (discreet, womanly),
We will build on her a turret (dowry) of silver;
But if she is a door (bold, flirtatious),
We will enclose her with planks of cedar.”
10
“I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers.
Then I became in the king’s eyes
As one [to be respected and allowed] to find peace.
11
“Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers;
Each one was to bring him a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
12
“My very own vineyard is at my disposal;
The thousand [shekels of silver] are for you, O Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who tend the fruit.”
13
“O you who sit in the gardens,
My companions are listening for your voice—
Let me hear it.”
14
“Hurry, my beloved and come quickly,
Like a gazelle or a young stag [taking me home]
On the mountains of spices.”
1 Now the main point of what we have to say is this: we have such a High Priest, [the Christ] who is seated [in the place of honor] at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty (God) in heaven, 2 a Minister (Officiating Priest) in the holy places and in the true tabernacle, which is erected not by man, but by the Lord. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this One also to have something to offer. 4 Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law. 5 They serve as a pattern and foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly things (sanctuary). For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, “See that you make it all [exactly] according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one or an attempt to institute another one [the new covenant]. 8 However, God finds fault with them [showing its inadequacy] when He says,
“Behold, the days will come, says the Lord,
When I will make and ratify a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9
Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not abide in My covenant,
And so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.
10
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
I will imprint My laws upon their minds [even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding],
And engrave them upon their hearts [effecting their regeneration].
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
11
“And it will not be [necessary] for each one to teach his fellow citizen,
Or each one his brother, saying, ‘Know [by experience, have knowledge of] the Lord,’
For all will know [Me by experience and have knowledge of] Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
12
“For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness,
And I will remember their sins no more.”
13 When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.
