9:1¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out² of the land of Egypt, saying,

9:2 “Let the Israelites observe³ the Passover⁴ at its appointed time.⁵ 9:3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight,⁶ you are to observe it in its appointed time; you must keep⁷ it in accordance with all its statutes and in accordance with all its customs.⁸ 9:4 So Moses instructed⁹ the Israelites to observe¹⁰ the passover. 9:5 And they observed the passover¹¹ on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.

9:6 It happened that some men¹² who were defiled¹³ by the dead body of a man, could not keep¹⁴ the passover on that day, and so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. 9:7 And those men said to him, “We are defiled by the dead body of a man; why are kept back from offering the offering of the LORD in its appointed time among the Israelites?” 9:8 So Moses said to them, “Remain¹⁵ here and I will hear¹⁶ what the LORD will command concerning you.”

9:9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 9:10 “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘If any¹⁷ of you or of your posterity become defiled by reason of a dead body, or be on a journey far away, then he may¹⁸ observe the passover unto the LORD. 9:11 They may observe it on the fourteenth day of the second month¹⁹ at twilight, they must eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9:12 They must not leave any of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; they must observe it in accordance with every statute of the passover.

9:13 But²⁰ the man who is clean, and was not on a journey, and fails²¹ to keep the passover, then that person must be cut off from his people;²² because he did not bring the offering of the LORD in its appointed time, that man must bear his sin bear his sin.²³ 9:14 And if an alien lives²⁴ among you, and wants to keep²⁵ the passover unto the LORD, he must do so according to the statute of the passover, and according to its custom. You must have²⁶ the same²⁷ statute for the alien²⁸ and for then one who was born in the land.’”

9:15²⁹ On³⁰ the day that the tabernacle was set up³¹ the cloud³² covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony;³³ and from the evening until the morning there was³⁴ a fiery appearance³⁵ over the tabernacle. 9:16 This is the way it used to be continually: the cloud would cover it by day, and a fiery appearance by night. 9:17 And whenever the cloud was taken up³⁶ from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would journey; and in whatever place³⁷ the cloud settled, there the Israelites camped. 9:18 At the commandment³⁸ of the LORD the Israelites would journey, and at the commandment of the LORD they would camp; as long as³⁹ the cloud would settle over the tabernacle they would camp. 9:19 And when the cloud prolonged its stay many days, then the Israelites kept the instructions⁴⁰ of the LORD and did not journey.

9:20 And when⁴¹ the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days⁴², they remained camped according to the commandment⁴³ of the LORD, and according to the commandment of the LORD they would journey. 9:21 And when⁴⁴ the cloud remained only⁴⁵ from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up⁴⁶ in the morning, then they journeyed. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they journeyed. 9:22 Whether the cloud stayed longer⁴⁷ over it, two days, or a month, or a year,⁴⁸ the Israelites remained camped without journeying;⁴⁹ but when it was taken up, they journeyed. 9:23 At the commandment of the LORD camped, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed; they kept the instructions of the LORD in accordance with the commandment of the LORD, by the authority of Moses.