Numbers 23 - 29
23 In the morning Balak took Balaam and led him up to the Heights of
Baal, from where he could see the full extent of the Israelite host. Then
Balaam said to Balak, 'Build me here seven altars and prepare for me seven
bulls and seven rams.' Balak did as he asked and offered a bull and a ram
on each altar. Then he said to him, 'I have prepared the seven altars, and
I have offered the bull and the ram on each altar.' Balaam said to Balak,
'Take your stand beside your sacrifice, and let me go off by myself. It may
happen that the LORD will meet me. Whatever he reveals to me, I will tell
you.' So he went forthwith, and God met him. The LORD put words into
Balaam's mouth and said, 'Go back to Balak, and speak as I tell you.' So
he went back, and found Balak standing by his sacrifice, and with him all
the Moabite chiefs. And Balaam uttered his oracle:
From Aram, from the mountains of the east,
Balak king of Moab has brought me:
'Come, lay a curse for me on Jacob,
come, execrate Israel.'
How can I denounce whom God has not denounced?
How can I execrate whom the LORD has not execrated?
From the rocky heights I see them,
I watch them from the rounded hills.
I see a people that dwells alone,
that has not made itself one with the nations.
Who can count the host of Jacob
or number the hordes of Israel?
Let me die as men die who are righteous,
grant that my end may be as theirs!
Then Balak said to Balaam, What is this you have done? I sent for you
to denounce my enemies, and what you have done is to bless them.' But
he replied, 'Must I not keep to the words that the LORD puts into my
mouth?'
Balak said to him, 'Come with me now to another place from which
you will see them, though not the full extent of them; you will not see them
all. Denounce them for me from there.' So he took him to the Field of the
Watchers on the summit of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered
a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, 'Take your stand beside
your sacrifice, and I will meet God over there.' The LORD met Balaam and
put words into his mouth, and said, 'Go back to Balak, and speak as I tell
you.' So he went back, and found him standing beside his sacrifice, with
the Moabite chiefs. Balak asked what the LORD had said, and Balaam
uttered his oracle:
Up, Balak, and listen:
hear what I am charged to say, son of Zippor.
God is not a mortal that he should lie,
not a man that he should change his mind.
Has he not spoken, and will he not make it good?
What he has proclaimed, he will surely fulfil.
I have received command to bless;
I will bless and I cannot gainsay it.
He has discovered no iniquity in Jacob
and has seen no mischief in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them,
acclaimed among them as king.
What its curving horns are to the wild ox,
God is to him, who brought him out of Egypt.
Surely there is no divination in Jacob,
and no augury in Israel;
now is the time to say of Jacob
and of Israel, 'See what God has wrought!'
Behold a people rearing up like a lioness,
rampant like a lion;
he will not couch till he devours the prey
and drinks the blood of he slain.
Then Balak said to Balaam, 'You will not denounce them; then at least do not
bless them'; and he answered, 'Did I not warn you that I must do all the
LORD tells me?' Balak replied, 'Come, let me take you to another place; per-
haps God will be pleased to let you denounce them for me from there.' So he
too Balaam to the summit of Peor overlooking Jeshimon, and Balaam told
him to build seven altars for him there and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.
Balak did as Balaam had said, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
24 But now that Balaam knew that the LORD wished him to bless Israel, he
did not go and resort to divination as before. He turned towards the desert;
and as he looked, he saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe. The spirit of God
came upon him, and he uttered his oracle:
The very word of Balaam son of Beor,
the very word of the man whose sight is clear,
the very word of him who hears the words of God,
who with staring eyes sees in a trance
the vision from the Almighty:
how goodly are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwelling-places, Israel,
like long rows of palms,
like gardens by a river,
like lign-aloes planted by the LORD,
like cedar beside the water!
The water in his vessels shall overflow,
and his seed shall be like great waters
so that his king may be taller than Agag,
and his kingdom lifted high.
What its curving horns are to the wild ox,
God is to him, who brought him out of Egypt;
he shall devour his adversaries the nations,
crunch their bones, and smash their limbs in pieces.
When he reclines he couches like a lion,
like a lioness, and no one dares rouse him.
Blessed be they that bless you,
and they that curse you be accursed!
At that Balak was very angry at Balaam, beat his hands together and
said, 'I summoned you to denounce my enemies, and three times you have
persisted in blessing them. Off with you to your own place! I promised to
confer great honour upon you, but now the LORD has kept this honour from
you.' Balaam answered, 'But I told your own messengers whom you sent:
"If Balak gives me all the silver and gold in his house, I cannot disobey the
command of the LORD by doing anything of my own will, good or bad.
What the LORD speaks to me, that is what I will say." Now I am going to
my own people; but first, I will warn you what this people will do to yours
in the days to come.' So he uttered his oracle:
The very word of Balaam son of Beor,
the very word of the man whose sight is clear,
the very word of him who hears the words of God,
who shares the knowledge of the Most High,
who with staring eyes sees in a trance
the vision from the Almighty:
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come forth out of Jacob,
a comet arise from Israel.
he shall smite the squadrons of Moab,
and beat down all the sons of strife.
Edom shall be his by conquest
and Seir, his enemy, shall be his.
Israel shall do valiant deeds;
Jacob shall trample them down,
the last survivor from Ar shall he destroy.
He saw Amalek and uttered his oracle:
First of all the nations was Amalek,
but his end shall be utter destruction.
He saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle:
Your refuge, though it seems secure,
your nest, though set on the mountain crag,
is doomed to burning, O Cain.
How long must you dwell there in my sight?
He uttered his oracle:
Ah, who are these assembling in the north,
invaders from the region of Kittim?
They will lay waste Syria; they will lay Eber waste:
he too shall perish utterly.
Then Balaam arose and returned home, and Balak also went on his way.
25 WHEN THE ISRAELITES WERE IN SHITTIM, the people began to have
intercourse with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices
offered to their gods; and they ate the sacrificial food and prostrated
themselves before the gods of Moab. The Israelites joined in the worship
of the Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry with them. He said to Moses,
'Take all the leaders of the people and hurl them down to their death before
the LORD in the full light of day, that the fury of his anger may turn away
from Israel.' So Moses said to the judges of Israel, 'Put to death, each one
of you, those of his tribe who have joined in the worship of Baal of Peor.'
One of the Israelites brought a Midianite woman into his family in open
defiance of Moses and all the community of Israel, while they were weep-
ing by the entrance of the Tent of the Presence. Phinehas son of Eleazar,
son of Aaron the priest, saw him. He stepped out from the crow and took
up a spear, and he went into the inner room after the Israelite and trans-
fixed the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, pinning them together.
Thus the plague which had attacked the Israelites was brought to a stop;
but twenty-four thousand had already died.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 'Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of
Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites; he dis-
played among them the same jealous anger that moved me, and therefore
in my jealousy I did not exterminate the Israelites. Tell him that I hereby
grant him my covenant of security of tenure. He and his descendants after
him shall enjoy the priesthood under a covenant for all time, because he
showed his zeal for his God and made expiation for the Israelites.' The
name of the Israelite struck down with the Midianite woman was Zimri
son of Salu, a chief in a Simeonite family, and the Midianite woman's
name was Cozbi daughter of Zur, who was the head of a group of fathers'
families in Midian.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 'Make the Midianites suffer as they
made you suffer with their crafty tricks, and strike them down; their
craftiness was your undoing at Peor and in the affair of Cozbi their sister,
the daughter of a Midianite chief, who was struck down at the time of the
plague that followed Peor.'
26 AFTER THE PLAGUE the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar the priest, son
of Aaron, 'Number the whole community of Israel by fathers' families,
recording everyone in Israel aged twenty years and upwards fit for military
service.' Moses and Eleazar collected them in the lowlands of Moab by
the Jordan near Jericho, all who were twenty years of age and upwards,
as the LORD had commanded Moses.
These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:
Reubenites (Reuben was Israel's eldest son): Enoch, the Enochite
family; Pallu, the Palluite family; Hezron, the Hezronite family; Carmi,
the Carmite family. These were the Reubenite families; the number in
their detailed list was forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. Son
of Pallu: Eliab. Sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. These were
the same Dathan and Abiram, conveners of the community, who defied
Moses and Aaron and joined the company of Korah in defying the LORD.
Then the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with Korah, and
so their company died, while fire burnt up the two hundred and fifty men,
and they became a warning sign. The Korahites, however, did not die.
Simeonites, by their families: Nemuel, the Nemuelite family; Zerah, the Zarhite
family; Saul the Saulite family. These were he Simeonite families; the
number in their detailed list was twenty-two thousand two hundred.
Gadites, by their families: Zephon, the Zephonite family; Haggi, the
Haggite famly; Shuni, the Shunite famliy; Ozni, the Oznite family; Eri
the Erite family; Arod, the Arodite family; Areli, the Arelite family. These
were the Gadite families; the number in their detailed list was forty
thousand five hundred.
The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah; Er and
Onan died in Canaan. Judahites, by their families: Shelah, the Shelahites
family; Perez, the Perezite family; Zerah, the Zarhite family. Perezites:
Hezron, the Hezronite family; Hamul, the Hamulite family. These were
the families of Judah; the number in their detailed list was seventy-six
thousand five hundred.
Issacharites, by families: Tola, the Tolaite family; Pua, the Puite
family; Jashub, the Jashubite family; Shimron, the Shimronite family.
These were the families of Issachar; the number in their detailed list was
sixty-four thousand three hundred.
Zebulunites, by their families: Sered, the Sardite family; Elon, the
Elonite family; Jahleel, the Jahleelite family. These were the Zebulun-
ite families; the number in their detailed list was sixty thousand five
hundred.
Josephites, by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. Manassites:
Machir, the Machirite family. Machir was the father of Gilead: Gilead,
the Gileadite family. Gileadites: Jeezer, the Jezerite family; Helek, the
Helekite family; Asriel, the Asrielite family; Shechem, the Shechemite
family; Shemida, the Shemidaite family; Hepher, the Hepherite family.
Zeloheha son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters; their names were
Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. These were the families of
Manasseh; the number in their detailed list was fifty-two thousand seven
hundred.
Ephraimites, by their families: Shuthelah, the Shuthalhite family;
Becher, the Bachrite family; Tahan, the Tahanite family. Shuthalhites:
Eran, the Eranite family. These were the Ephraimite families; the number
in their detailed list was thirty-two thousand five hundred. These were
the Josephites, by families.
Benjamites, by their families: Bela, the Belaite family; Ashbel, the
Asbelite family; Ahiram, Ahiramite familiy; Shupham, the Shupham-
ite family; Hupham, the Huphamite family. Belaites: Ard and Naaman.
Ard, the Ardite family; Naaman, the Naamite family. These were the
Benjamite families; the number in their detailed list was forty-five thousand
six hundred.
Danites, by their families: Shuham, the Shuhamite family. These were
the families of Dan by their families; the number in the detailed list of the
Shuhamite families was sixty-four thousand four hundred.
Asherites, by their families: Imna, the Imnite family; Ishvi, the Ishvite
family; Beriah, the Beriite family. Beriite families: Heber, the Heberite
family; Malchiel, the Malchielite family. The daughter of Asher was named
Serah. These were the Asherite families; the number in their detailed list
was fifty-three thousand four hundred.
Naphtalites, by their families: Jahzeel, the Jahzeelite family; Guni, the
Gunite family; Jezer, the Jezerite family; Shillem, the Shillemite family.
These were the Naphtalite families by their families; the number in their
detailed list was forty-five thousand four hundred.
The total in the Israelite lists was six hundred and one thousand seven
hundred and thirty.
The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 'The land shall be apportioned
among these tribes according to the number of names recorded. To the
larger group you shall give a larger property and to the smaller a smaller;
a property shall be given to each in proportion to its size as shown in the
detailed lists. The land, however, shall be apportioned by lot; the lots shall
be cast for the properties by families in the father's line. Properties shall
be apportioned by lot between the larger families and the smaller.'
The detailed lists of Levi, by families: Gershon, the Gershonite family;
Kohath, the Kohathite family; Merari, the Merarite family.
These were the families of Levi: the Libnite, Hebronit, Mahhlite,
Mushite, and Korahite families.
Kohath was the father of Amram; Amram's wife was named Jochebed
daughter of Levi, born to him in Egypt. She bore to Amram Aaron, Moses,
and their sister Miriam. Aaron's sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and
Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu died because they presented illicit fire before
the LORD.
In the detailed lists of Levi the number of males, aged one month and
upwards, was twenty-three thousand. They were recorded Separately from
the other Israelites because no property was allotted to them among
Israelites.
These were detailed lists prepared by Moses and Eleazar the priest
when they numbered the Israelites in the lowlands of Moab by the Jordan
near Jericho. Among them was not a single one of the Israelites whom
Moses and Aaron the priest had recorded in the wilderness of Sinai; for
the LORD had said they should all die in the wilderness. None of them was
still living except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
27 A claim was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher,
son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. Their
names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They appeared
at the entrance of the Tent of the Presence before Moses, Eleazar the priest,
the chiefs, and all the community, and spoke as follows: 'Our father died
in the wilderness. He was not among the company of Korah which com-
bined together against the LORD; he died for his own sin and left no sons.
Is it right that, because he had no son, our father's name should disappear
from his family? Give us our property on the same footing as our father's
brothers.'
So Moses brought their case before the LORD, and the LORD spoke to
Moses and said, 'The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is good. You
must allow them to inherit on the same footing as their father's brothers.
Let their father's patrimony pass to them. Then say this to the Israelites:
"When a man dies leaving no son, his patrimony shall pass to his daughter.
If he has no daughter, you shall give it to his brothers. If he has no brothers,
you shall give it to his father's brothers. If his father has no brothers, then
you shall give possession to the nearest survivor in the family, and he shall
inherit. This shall be a legal precedent for the Israelites, as the LORD has
commanded Moses."'
The LORD said to Moses, 'Go up this mountain, Mount Abarim, and
look out over the land which I have given to the Israelites. Then, when
you have looked out over it, you shall be gathered to your father's kin like
your brother Aaron; for you and Aaron disobeyed my command when the
community disputed with me in the wilderness of Zin: you did not uphold
my holiness before them at the waters.' These were the waters of Meribah-
by-Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.
Then Moses said, 'Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind,
appoint a man over the community to go out and come in at their head, to
lead them out and bring them home, so that the community of the LORD
may not be like sheep without a shepherd.' The LORD answered Moses,
'Take Joshua son of Nun, a man endowed with spirit; lay your hand on
him and set him before Eleazar the priest and all the community . Give him
his commission in their presence, and delegate some of your authority to
him, so that all the community of the Israelites may obey him. He must
appear before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain a decision for him by
consulting the Urim before the LORD; at his word they shall go out and
shall come home, both Joshua and the whole community of the Israelites.'
Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. He took Joshua, presented
him to Eleazar the priest and the whole community, laid his hands on him
and gave him his commission, as the LORD had instructed him.
28 THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES and said, Give this command to the Israel-
ites: See that you present my offerings, the food for the food-offering of
soothing odour, to me at the appointed time.
Tell them: This is the food-offering which you shall present to the
LORD: the regular daily whole offering of two yearling rams without
blemish. One you shall sacrifice in the morning and the second between
dusk and dark. The grain-offering shall be a tenth of a ephah of flour
mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil of pounded olives. (This was the regular
whole-offering made at Mount Sinai, a soothing odour, a food-offering to
the LORD.) The wine for the proper drink-offering shall be a quarter of a
hin to each ram; you are to pour out this strong drink in the holy place as
an offering to the LORD. You shall sacrifice the second ram between dusk
and dark, with the same grain-offering as at the morning sacrifice and with
the proper drink-offering; it is a food-offering of soothing odour to the
LORD.
For the sabbath day: two yearling rams without blemish, a grain-
offering of two tenths of an ephah of flour mixed with oil, and the proper
drink-offering. This whole-offering, presented every sabbath, is in addi-
tion to the regular whole-offering and the proper drink-offering.
On the first day of every month you shall present a whole-offering to the
LORD, consisting of two young bulls, one ram and seven yearling rams
without blemish. The grain-offering shall be three tenths of flour mixed
with oil for each bull, two tenths of flour mixed with oil for the full-grown
ram, and one tenth of flour mixed with oil for each young ram. This is a
whole-offering, a food-offering of soothing odour to the LORD. The proper
drink-offering shall be half an hin of win for each bull, a third for the full-
grown ram and a quarter for each young ram. This is the whole-offering
to be made, month by month, throughout the year. Further, one he-goat
shall be sacrificed as a sin-offering to the LORD, in addition to the regular
whole-offering and the proper drink-offering.
The Passover of the LORD shall be held on the fourteenth day of the
first month, and on the fifteenth day there shall be a pilgrim-feast; for seven
days you must eat only unleavened cakes. On the first day there shall be a
sacred assembly; you shall not do your daily work. As a food-offering, a
whole-offering to the LORD, you shall present two young bulls, one ram,
and seven yearling rams, all without blemish. You shall offer the proper
grain-offerings of flour mixed with oil, three tenths for each bull, two
tenths for the ram, and one tenth for each of the seven young rams; and as
a sin-offering, one he-goat to make expiation for you. All these you shall
offer in addition to the morning whole-offering, which is the regular
sacrifice. You shall repeat this daily till the seventh day, presenting food
as a food-offering of soothing odour to the LORD, in addition to the regu-
lar whole-offering and the proper drink-offering. On the seventh day there
shall be a sacred assembly; you shall not do your daily work.
On the day of Firstfruits, when you bring to the LORD your grain-
offering from the new crop at your Feast of Weeks, there shall be a sacred
assembly; you shall not do your daily work. You shall bring a whole-
offering as a soothing odour to the LORD: two young bulls, one full-grown
ram and seven yearling rams. The proper grain-offering shall be of flour
mixed with oil, three tenths for each bull, two tenths for the one ram, and
a tenth for each of the seven young rams, and there shall be one he-
goat as a sin-offering to make expiation for you; they shall all be without
blemish. All these you shall offer in addition to the regular whole-offering
with the proper grain-offering and drink-offering.
On the first day of the seventh month there shall be a sacred assembly;
you shall not do your daily work. It shall be a day of acclamation. You
shall sacrifice a whole-offering as a soothing odour to the LORD: one young
bull, one full-grown ram, and seven yearling rams, without blemish. Their
proper grain-offering shall be of flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the
bull, two tenths for the one ram, and one tenth for each of the seven young
rams, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-offering to make expiation for
you. This is in addition to the monthly whole-offering and the regular
whole-offering with their proper grain-offerings and drink-offerings
according to custom; it is a food-offering of soothing odour to the LORD.
On the tenth day of the seventh month there shall be a sacred assembly,
and you shall mortify yourselves; you shall not do any work. You shall
bring a whole-offering to the LORD as a soothing odour: one young bull,
one fullgrown ram, and seven yearling rams; they shall all be without
blemish. The proper grain-offering shall be of flour mixed with oil, three
tenths for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, and one tenth for each of the
seven young rams, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-offering, in addi-
tion to the expiatory sin-offering and the regular whole-offering, with the
proper grain-offering and drink-offering.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month there shall be a sacred assem-
bly. You shall not do your daily work, but shall keep a pilgrim-feast to the
LORD for seven days. As a whole-offering, a food-offering of soothing
odour to the LORD, you shall bring thirteen young bulls, two full-grown
rams, and fourteen yearling rams; they shall all be without blemish. The
proper grain-offering shall be of flour mixed with oil, three tenths for each
of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, and one tenth for
each of the fourteen young rams, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-
offering, in addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper grain-
offering and drink-offering.
On the second day: twelve young bulls, two full-grown rams, and four-
teen yearling rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-
offerings and drink-offerings for bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams,
as prescribed according to their number, and there shall be one he-goat
as a sin-offering, in addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper
grain-offering and drink-offering.
On the third day: eleven bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen
yearling rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-offerings
and drink-offerings for the bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams, as pre-
scribed according to their number, and there shall be one he-goat as a
sin offering, in addition to the regular whole-offering, with the proper
grain-offering and drink-offering.
On the fourth day: ten bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen yearling
rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-offerings and drink-
offerings for bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams, as prescribed accord-
ing to their number, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-offering, in
addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper grain-offering and
drink-offering.
On the fifth day: nine bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen yearling
rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-offerings and drink-
offerings for bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams, as prescribed accord-
ing to their number, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-offering, in
addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper grain-offering and
drink-offering.
On the sixth day: eight bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen yearling
rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-offerings and drink-
offerings for bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams, as prescribed accord-
ing to their number, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-offering, in
addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper grain-offering and
drink-offering.
On the seventh day: seven bulls, two full-grown rams, and fourteen
yearling rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-offerings
and drink-offerings for bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams, as pre-
scribed according to their number, and there shall be one he-goat as a
sin-offering, in addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper
grain-offering and drink-offering.
The eighth day you shall keep as a closing ceremony; you shall not do
your daily work. As a whole-offering, a food-offering of soothing odour to
the LORD, you shall bring one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven yearling
rams, without blemish, together with the proper grain-offerings and drink-
offerings for bulls, full-grown rams, and young rams, as prescribed accord-
ing to their number, and there shall be one he-goat as a sin-offering, in
addition to the regular whole-offering with the proper grain-offering and
drink-offering.
These are the sacrifices which you shall offer to the LORD at the ap-
pointed seasons, in addition to the votive offerings, the freewill offerings,
the whole offerings, the grain-offerings, the drink-offerings, and the
shared-offerings.
Moses told the Israelites exactly what the LORD had commanded
him.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Apr 9, 2019, 12:46 PM UTC
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