Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
“Moreover let the children of Israel keep the Passover in its appointed season.
On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you must keep it in its appointed season—according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances you are to keep it.”
Moses spoke to the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover.
They kept the Passover in the first month on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.
There were certain men who were unclean because of the dead body of a man so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day.
Those men said to him, “We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back so that we cannot offer the approach offering of Yahweh in its appointed season among the children of Israel?”
Moses answered them, “Wait, that I may hear what Yahweh commands concerning you.”
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Say to the children of Israel: If any man of you or of your generations is unclean because of a dead body or is on a journey far away, he may still keep the Passover to Yahweh.
In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they are to keep it; they are to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
They are to leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statutes of the Passover they must keep it.
“But the man who is clean and is not on a journey and fails to keep the Passover, that soul is to be cut off from his people. Because he did not offer the approach offering of Yahweh in its appointed season, that man will bear his sin.
“If a resident alien lives among you and desires to keep the Passover to Yahweh, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so is he to do. You are to have one statute both for the foreigner and for him who is born in the land.”
The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle
On the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, and at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning.
So it was continually. The cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children of Israel traveled; and in the place where the cloud remained, there the children of Israel encamped.
At the commandment of Yahweh the children of Israel traveled, and at the commandment of Yahweh they encamped. As long as the cloud remained on the tabernacle they remained encamped.
When the cloud stayed on the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept Yahweh’s command and did not travel.
Sometimes the cloud was a few days on the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of Yahweh they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of Yahweh they traveled.
Sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning they traveled; or by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they traveled.
Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, remaining on it, the children of Israel remained encamped and did not travel; but when it was taken up, they traveled.
At the commandment of Yahweh they encamped, and at the commandment of Yahweh they traveled. They kept Yahweh’s command at the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.