1 Os chefes de família dos filhos de Galaad, filho de Maquir, filho de Manassés, da raça de José, apresentaram-se diante de Moisés e dos principais chefes das famílias israelitas:

2 "O Senhor, disseram eles, ordenou ao meu senhor que desse, por sorte, a terra em herança aos israelitas; e o Senhor ordenou ao meu senhor que desse às filhas de Salfaad, nosso irmão, a herança devida ao seu pai.

3 Mas se homens de outra tribo as receberem por mulheres, a sua herança será retirada do patrimônio de nossos pais e acrescentada ao da tribo na qual elas se casarem; e assim será diminuída a nossa herança.

4 Quando chegar o jubileu dos filhos de Israel, a sua herança será unida à da tribo a que pertencerem, e separada da de nossos pais."

5 Moisés, então, respondeu aos filhos de Israel por ordem do Senhor: "Tem razão a tribo dos filhos de José.

6 Eis a ordem do Senhor para as filhas de Salfaad: casem com quem quiserem, contanto que seja com alguém de uma família da tribo paterna;

7 desse modo as possessões dos israelitas não passarão de uma tribo à outra, e cada israelita ficará na herança da tribo de seus pais.

8 Todas as mulheres que possuírem um patrimônio em uma tribo israelita, tomarão marido na tribo paterna, a fim de que cada israelita conserve o patrimônio de família.

9 Herança alguma poderá passar de uma tribo à outra: deve cada tribo israelita permanecer no que é seu."

10 As filhas de Salfaad comportaram-se segundo a ordem do Senhor.

11 Maala, Tersa, Hegla, Melca e Noa, filhas de Salfaad, casaram-se com filhos de seus tios;

12 casaram-se, pois, em famílias saídas de Manassés, filho de José, e a possessão que lhes tocava permaneceu na tribo de seu pai.

13 Tais são as leis e as ordenações que o Senhor transmitiu aos israelitas por intermédio de Moisés nas planícies de Moab, perto do Jordão, defronte de Jericó.

1 The heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel. 2 They said, "Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. My lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 If they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4 When the jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."

5 Moses commanded the children of Israel according to Yahweh’s word, saying, "The tribe of the sons of Joseph speak what is right. 6 This is the thing which Yahweh commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them be married to whom they think best, only they shall marry into the family of the tribe of their father. 7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel move from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall all keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 So shall no inheritance move from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall each keep his own inheritance.’"

10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as Yahweh commanded Moses: 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons. 12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. Their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yahweh commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.