27:1¹ Then came the daughters of Zelophahad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, the son Joseph; now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 27:2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders of the whole assembly, at the entrance to the tent of the meeting, saying, 27:3 “Our father died in the wilderness, although² he was not part of³ the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but he died in his own sin,⁴ and he had no sons. 27:4 Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession⁵ among the relatives⁶ of our father.”

27:5 So Moses brought their cause before the LORD. 27:6 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27:7 “The daughters of Zelophahad make a valid claim.⁷ You must indeed⁸ give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer⁹ the inheritance of their father to them. 27:8 And you must speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘If a man dies¹⁰ and has no son, then you must transfer his inheritance to his daughter; 27:9 and if he has no daughter, then you are to give his inheritance to his brothers; 27:10 and if he has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his father’s brothers; 27:11 and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. And it will be for the Israelites a legal requirement,¹¹ as the LORD commanded Moses.’”

27:12 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go up this mount Abarim,¹³ and see¹⁴ the land which I have given¹⁵ to the Israelites. 27:13 And when you have seen it, you will be gathered¹⁶ to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 27:14 For¹⁷ in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you¹⁸ rebelled against my command to sanctify me before their eyes over the water; that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”

27:15 Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, 27:16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind,¹⁹ appoint²⁰ a man over the community, 27:17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them,²¹ and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in; so that²² the community of the LORD may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

27:18 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua, the son of Nun, and man in whom is such a spirit,²³ and lay your hand upon him;²⁴ 27:19 and set him²⁵ before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission²⁶ him in their sight. 27:20 Then you must delegate²⁷ some of your authority²⁸ to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient. 27:21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who²⁹ will seek counsel³⁰ for him before the LORD by the decision of the Urim.³¹ At his command³² they will go out, and at his word they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, even the whole community.”

27:22 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before the whole community. 27:23 And he laid his hands upon him, and commissioned him, just as the LORD commanded, by the authority of Moses.