1 And the LORD {YHWH, Divine Lawgiver} spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the second year after their exodus {letzetam: departure event} from the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying:
2 The sons of Israel shall observe the Passover {pesach: the festival of deliverance} at its appointed time {mo’ed: sacred set time by God}.
3 On the fourteenth day of this month, between the evenings, you shall observe it at its appointed time, according to all its statutes {chukkat: binding ordinances} and according to all its judgments {mishpat: prescribed rulings}; you shall observe it.
4 And Moses {Mosheh: mediator} spoke to the sons of Israel, instructing them to perform {laʿăśôt: ritual observance} the Passover.
5 And they observed the Passover in the first month on the fourteenth day, between the evenings, in the wilderness of Sinai, according to all that the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Commander} commanded Moses; so did the sons of Israel {benei Yisrael: covenant community}.
6 And it happened that some men who were unclean {teme’im: ritually impure} due to contact with a dead body could not perform the Passover {pesach: festival of deliverance} on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
7 Then those men said to him, “We are unclean because of a dead person {nefesh: deceased person}; why should we be prevented from bringing near the offering of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant-Keeper} at His appointed time among the sons of Israel?”
8 And Moses said to them, “Stand {imdu: stay attentive}, and I will hear what the LORD {YHWH, Revealer of Guidance} will command concerning you.”
9 Then the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Speaker} spoke to Moses, saying {le’emor: divine speech formula}.
10 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: “If any man becomes unclean on account of a soul {nefesh: deceased person} or is on a distant journey, whether for you or for your descendants, he shall keep the Passover for the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Redeemer}.”
11 In the second month, on the fourteenth day, between the evenings, they shall perform it, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread {matzot: bread without leavening} and bitter herbs {merorim: pungent plants as a sign of hardship}.
12 They must not leave any of it until morning, nor break a bone {etsem: ritual wholeness} in it; according to all the statute {chukat: binding ordinance} of the Passover, they shall do it.
13 But the man who is clean and is not away on a journey yet refrains from celebrating the Passover {Pesach: liberation feast}, that soul shall be cut off from among its people, because the offering of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Judge} was not brought at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin.
14 And if a foreigner {ger: resident alien} sojourns with you and makes a Passover offering to the LORD {YHWH, Passover Redeemer}, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so shall he do. One statute shall be for you, and for the foreigner, and for the native-born of the land.
15 On the day the tabernacle {mishkan: portable sanctuary} was set up, the cloud covered the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was over the tabernacle as the appearance of fire {esh: divine presence} until morning.
16 So it was always: the cloud {heanan: protective cloud} covered it {yekhasenu: sustaining covering}, and the appearance of fire at night.
17 And according to the going up {heʿalot: ascending movement} of the cloud from above the tent, then the sons of Israel set out; and in the place where the cloud settles, the sons of Israel camp {chanah: to encamp as a group}.
18 At the command of the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Guide}, the sons of Israel journeyed, and at the command of the LORD they encamped. All the days that the cloud dwelled upon the tabernacle {mishkan: sanctuary dwelling}, they encamped.
19 And when the cloud remained over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites kept the charge {mishmeret: duty of watchfulness} of the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Guide}, and they did not set out.
20 At certain times the cloud remains over the tabernacle {mishkan: dwelling place of God} for a fixed number of days; at the command of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Guide} they camp, and at the command of the LORD they set out.
21 And there were occasions when the cloud {he‘anan: divine presence symbol} remained from evening until morning, and when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they set out {ve-nās‘ū: orderly departure}. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they set out.
22 Whether for two days, a month, or many days, as the cloud {he’anan: symbol of presence} remained over the tabernacle for dwelling, the sons of Israel camped {yachanu: obedient settlement} and did not set out; but when it was lifted up, they set out.
23 By the command of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Guide} they camped, and by the command of the LORD they set out; they kept the charge {mishmeret: entrusted duty} of the LORD, by the command of the LORD through the hand of Moses.