18 This was the way the Lord showed the Israelites when to move and when to stop and set up camp. While the cloud stayed over the Holy Tent, the people continued to camp in that same place.
19 Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Holy Tent for a long time. The Israelites obeyed the Lord and did not move.
20 Sometimes the cloud was over the Holy Tent for only a few days. So the people obeyed the Lord’S command—they followed the cloud when it moved.
21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only during the night—the next morning the cloud moved. So the people gathered their things and followed it. If the cloud moved, during the day or during the night, they followed it.
22 If the cloud stayed over the Holy Tent for two days, a month, or a year, the people stayed at that place. They did not leave until the cloud moved. When the cloud rose from its place and moved, they also moved.
23 So the people obeyed the Lord’S commands. They camped when the Lord told them to, and they moved when he told them to. They watched carefully and obeyed the Lord’S commands to Moses.