16. The cloud stayed above the Tent. At night it looked like fire.
17. When the cloud moved from its place over the Tent, the Israelites moved. Wherever the cloud stopped, the Israelites camped.
18. So the Israelites moved at the Lord’s command. And they camped at his command. While the cloud stayed over the Tent, they stayed in place.
19. Sometimes the cloud stayed over the Tent for a long time. The Israelites obeyed the Lord and did not move.
20. Sometimes the cloud was over it only a few days. At the Lord’s command the people camped. And at his command they moved.
21. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from dusk until dawn. When the cloud lifted the next morning, the people moved. When the cloud lifted, day or night, the people moved.
22. The cloud might stay over the Tent for two days, a month or a year. As long as it stayed, the people would camp. But when the cloud lifted, they moved.
23. At the Lord’s command the people camped. And at his command they moved. They obeyed the Lord’s order that he commanded through Moses.