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Balaam's First Message

23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, then bring seven bulls and seven rams.”

After Balak had done this, they sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam said, “Wait here beside your offerings, and I'll go somewhere to be alone. Maybe the Lord will appear to me. If he does, I will tell you everything he says.” And he left.

When God appeared to him, Balaam said, “I have built seven altars and have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.”

The Lord gave Balaam a message, then sent him back to tell Balak. When Balaam returned, he found Balak and his officials standing beside the offerings.

Balaam said:

“King Balak of Moab brought me
    from the hills of Syria
to curse Israel
    and announce its doom.
But I can't go against God!
He did not curse
    or condemn Israel.

* “From the mountain peaks,
I look down and see Israel,
    the obedient people of God.
10 They are living alone in peace.
And though they are many,
    they don't bother
    the other nations.

“I hope to obey God
for as long as I live
    and to die in such peace.”

11 Balak said, “What are you doing? I asked you to come and place a curse on my enemies. But you have blessed them instead!”

12 Balaam answered, “I can say only what the Lord tells me.”

Balaam's Second Message

13 Balak said to Balaam, “Let's go somewhere else. Maybe if you see a smaller part of the Israelites, you will be able to curse them for me.” 14 So he took Balaam to a field on top of Mount Pisgah where lookouts were stationed.[a] Then he built seven altars there and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.

15 “Wait here beside your offerings,” Balaam said. “The Lord will appear to me over there.”

16 The Lord appeared to Balaam and gave him another message, then he told him to go and tell Balak. 17 Balaam went back and saw him and his officials standing beside the offerings.

Balak asked, “What did the Lord say?”

18 Balaam answered:

“Pay close attention
    to my words—
19 God is no mere human!
He doesn't tell lies
    or change his mind.
God always keeps his promises.

20 “My command from God
    was to bless these people,
and there's nothing I can do
    to change what he has done.
21 Israel's king is the Lord God.
He lives there with them
    and intends them no harm.
22 With the strength of a wild ox,
    God led Israel out of Egypt.
23 No magic charms can work
    against them—
just look what God has done
    for his people.
24 They are like angry lions
    ready to attack;
and they won't rest
until their victim
    is gobbled up.”

25 Balak shouted, “If you're not going to curse Israel, then at least don't bless them.”

26 “I've already told you,” Balaam answered. “I will say only what the Lord tells me.”

Balaam's Third Message

27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come on, let's try another place. Maybe God will let you curse Israel from there.” 28 So he took Balaam to Mount Peor overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.

29 Balaam said, “Build seven altars here, then bring me seven bulls and seven rams.”

30 After Balak had done what Balaam asked, he sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.

24 Balaam was sure that the Lord would tell him to bless Israel again. So he did not use any magic to find out what the Lord wanted him to do, as he had the first two times. Instead, he looked out toward the desert and saw the tribes of Israel camped below. Just then, God's Spirit took control of him, and Balaam said:

“I am the son of Beor,
and my words are true,[b]
    so listen to my message!
It comes from the Lord,
    the God All-Powerful.
I bowed down to him
    and saw a vision of Israel.

“People of Israel,
    your camp is lovely.
It's like a grove of palm trees[c]
    or a garden beside a river.
You are like tall aloe trees
    that the Lord has planted,
or like cedars
    growing near water.
You and your descendants
will prosper like an orchard
    beside a stream.
Your king will rule with power
and be a greater king
    than Agag the Amalekite.[d]
With the strength of a wild ox,
    God led you out of Egypt.
You will defeat your enemies,
shooting them with arrows[e]
    and crushing their bones.
(A) Like a lion you lie down,
    resting after an attack.
Who would dare disturb you?

“Anyone who blesses you
    will be blessed;
anyone who curses you
    will be cursed.”

10 When Balak heard this, he was so furious that he pounded his fist against his hand and said, “I called you here to place a curse on my enemies, and you've blessed them three times. 11 Leave now and go home! I told you I would pay you well, but since the Lord didn't let you do what I asked, you won't be paid.”

12 Balaam answered, “I told your messengers 13 that even if you offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I would still obey the Lord. And I explained that I would say only what he told me. 14 So I'm going back home, but I'm leaving you with a warning about what the Israelites will someday do to your nation.”

Balaam's Fourth Message

15 Balaam said:

“I am the son of Beor,
and my words are true,[f]
    so listen to my message!
16 My knowledge comes
from God Most High,
    the Lord All-Powerful.
I bowed down to him
    and saw a vision of Israel.

17 “What I saw in my vision
    hasn't happened yet.
But someday, a king of Israel
    will appear like a star.
He will wipe out you Moabites[g]
and destroy[h] those tribes
    who live in the desert.[i]
18 Israel will conquer Edom
and capture the land
    of that enemy nation.
19 The king of Israel will rule
and destroy the survivors
    of every town there.[j]

20 “And I saw this vision
    about the Amalekites:[k]
Their nation is now great,
but it will someday
    disappear forever.[l]

21 “And this is what I saw
    about the Kenites:[m]
They think they're safe,
    living among the rocks,
22 but they will be wiped out
    when Assyria conquers them.[n]

23 “No one can survive
    if God plans destruction.[o]
24 Ships will come from Cyprus,
bringing people who will invade
    the lands of Assyria and Eber.
But finally, Cyprus itself
    will be ruined.”

25 After Balaam finished, he started home, and Balak also left.

The Israelites Worship Baal

25 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men had sex with Moabite women. These women then invited the men to ceremonies where sacrifices were offered to their gods. The men ate the meat from the sacrifices and worshiped the Moabite gods.

The Lord was angry with Israel because they had worshiped the god Baal Peor. So he said to Moses, “Take the Israelite leaders who are responsible for this and have them killed in front of my sacred tent where everyone can see. Maybe then I will stop being angry with the Israelites.”

Moses told Israel's officials,[p] “Each of you must put to death any of your men who worshiped Baal.”

Later, Moses and the people were at the sacred tent, crying, when one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite[q] woman to meet his family. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron[r] the priest, saw the couple and left the crowd. He found a spear and followed the man into his tent, where he ran the spear through the man and into the woman's stomach. The Lord immediately stopped punishing Israel with a deadly disease, but 24,000 Israelites had already died.

10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “In my anger, I would have wiped out the Israelites if Phinehas had not been faithful to me. 12-13 But instead of punishing them, I forgave them. So because of the loyalty that Phinehas showed, I solemnly promise that he and his descendants will always be my priests.”

14 The Israelite man that was killed was Zimri son of Salu, who was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe. 15 And the Midianite woman killed with him was Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite clan leader named Zur.

16 The Lord told Moses, 17-18 “The Midianites are now enemies of Israel, so attack and defeat them! They tricked the people of Israel into worshiping their god at Peor, and they are responsible for the death of Cozbi, the daughter of one of their own leaders.”

Footnotes

  1. 23.14 a field … where lookouts were stationed: Or “Zophim Field on the top of Mount Pisgah.”
  2. 24.3 my words are true: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 24.6 grove of palm trees: Or “green valley.”
  4. 24.7 Agag the Amalekite: The Amalekites were longtime enemies of the Israelites (see Exodus 17.8-16), and Agag was one of their most powerful kings.
  5. 24.8 shooting them with arrows: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 24.15 my words are true: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 24.17 you Moabites: Or “the territories of Moab.”
  8. 24.17 destroy: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Samaritan Hebrew Text “the skulls of.”
  9. 24.17 those tribes … desert: The Hebrew text has “the descendants of Sheth,” which probably refers to the people who lived in the desert areas of Canaan before the Israelites.
  10. 24.19 every town there: Or “Ir in Moab.”
  11. 24.20 the Amalekites: See the note at 24.7.
  12. 24.20 but … forever: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  13. 24.21 the Kenites: A group of people who lived in the desert south of Israel.
  14. 24.22 them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 22.
  15. 24.23 destruction: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 23.
  16. 25.5 officials: These were special leaders who were probably responsible for an entire tribe or part of a tribe.
  17. 25.6 Midianite: Used here as a general term for various peoples who lived east of the Jordan River. Some of these people were probably ruled by the Moabite king (see Genesis 36.35).
  18. 25.7 Phinehas … Aaron: Hebrew “Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron.”

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