The Silver Trumpets

1 And the Lord spoke with Moses, saying: 2 Make yourself two trumpets of silver, you shall make them of hammered silver, and they shall be for you to summon the assembly, and to signal the divisions to set out. 3 And they shall blow with them, and bring all the congregation together to you, at the door of the Tent of Meeting. 4 And if they blow only one, the chiefs, the heads of thousands of Israel, shall gather together to you. 5 When you blow with an alarm, the division camped on the east shall set out, 6 and when you blow with the second alarm, the divisions camped on the south shall set out; they shall sound an alarm when setting out. 7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not with the alarm. 8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow with the trumpets; and this shall be to you a permanent statute for your generations. 9 And when you go into battle in your own land, with the oppressors who oppress you, you shall blow the alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered for good before the Lord your God, and saved from your enemies. 10 And on the day of your rejoicing, and on your appointed festivals, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over your holy sacrifices; and they shall be for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God.

Israel Leaves Sinai

11 And it was in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the Cloud was lifted from above the Tabernacle of the Testimony, 12 and the children of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the Cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. 13 And they set out for the first time by the Memra of the Lord through Moses. 14 First the standard of the camp of the sons of Judah set out by their divisions; and over the division was Nahshon son of Amminadab. 15 And over the division of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar. 16 And over the division of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon. 17 And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon set out, and the sons of Merari, carrying the tabernacle. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their divisions, and over its division was Elizur son of Shedeur: 19 and over the division of the tribe of the sons of Simeon was Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the division of the sons of Gad was Eliasaph son of Deuel. 21 And the sons of Kohath set out, carrying the sanctuary, and the Gershonites and sons of Merari set up the tabernacle before they arrived. 22 And the standard of the camps of the sons of Ephraim set out by their divisions, and over his division was Elishama son of Ammihud. 23 And over the division of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh was Gamaliel son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the division of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni. 25 And the standard of the camps of the sons of Dan set out bringing up the rear of all the camps according to their divisions; and over his division was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the division of the tribe of the sons of Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran; 27 and over the division of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan. 28 These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, and according to their divisions they set out.

Moses Invites Hobab

29 And Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel, the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, We are journeying to the place of which the Lord has said, I will give it to you: come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has spoken, to give good things to Israel. 30 But he said to him, I will not go with you; I will go to my own country and relatives. 31 And he said, Please do not leave us; for you know how we should encamp in the wilderness; and the great things that will be done for us you will see with your own eyes. 32 And if you go with us, we will share with you the good things the Lord gives us.

The Ark Leads the Journey

33 And from the mountain on which the glory of the Lord had been revealed they set out, journeying three days; and the ark of the Lord's covenant went before them, three days' journey, to find them a place to camp. 34 And the Cloud of Glory of the Lord covered them by day as they set out from their encampments. 35 And when the ark set out, Moses said: Reveal Yourself, Lord, that Your enemies may be scattered,⁠a and Your adversaries may flee before You. 36 And when it rested, he said: Return, Lord, and dwell in Your glory among the multitudes of the thousands of Israel.