Numbers 10:11-25:18

New Catholic Bible

Forty Years in the Wilderness^[a]

¹¹ Departure from Sinai.^[b]On the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud was lifted up from the tabernacle of the Testimony. ¹² The people of Israel set out from the Sinai Desert and traveled until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.^[c]

¹³ They set out this first time in accord with the command of the Lord received through Moses. ¹⁴ The standard of the camp of the tribe of Judah went out first by their companies. Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, was leader of its company. ¹⁵ Nethanel, the son of Zuar, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Issachar. ¹⁶ Eliab, the son of Helon, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Zebulun. ¹⁷ The tabernacle was then taken down, and the Gershonites and the Merarites who carried the tabernacle set out. ¹⁸ The standard of the camp of the tribe of Reuben set forth next. Elizur, the son of Shedeur, was the leader of its company. ¹⁹ Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Simeon. ²⁰ Eliasaph, the son of Reuel, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Gad. ²¹ Then the Kohathites set forth carrying the sanctuary. The tabernacle was to be set up when they arrived. ²² The standard of the camp of the tribe of Ephraim came next. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, was the leader of its company. ²³ Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Manasseh. ²⁴ Abidan, the son of Gideoni, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Benjamin.

²⁵ Finally, behind all of the other camps, the standard of the camp of the tribe of Dan set out. Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, was the leader of its company. ²⁶ Pagiel, the son of Ochran, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Asher. ²⁷ Ahira, the son of Enan, was the leader of the company of the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁸ This was the order of the companies of the people of Israel as they set out.

²⁹ Plea to Hobab. Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place that the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.” ³⁰ But he said to him, “I will not go, rather I will leave for my own land and my own people.” ³¹ But he said, “Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you could look out for us. ³² If you come with us, then whatever good things the Lord bestows upon us, we will share them with you.”

³³ Into the Wilderness. They traveled a three days’ journey from the mountain of the Lord, and the Ark of the Covenant went before them throughout the three days’ journey, searching out a resting place for them. ³⁴ The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp. ³⁵ Whenever the Ark set forth, Moses would say,

Chapter 11

The People of Israel Complain. ¹ The people complained about their hardships and the Lord heard and his anger flared up. Then the fire of the Lord burned up the outskirts of the camp. ² The people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was quenched. ³ He named that place Taberah,^[e] for the fire of the Lord had burned in their midst.

⁴ Now the rabble^[f] among them fell victim to their desires again, and the people of Israel said, “Who will give us meat to eat? ⁵ We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now our strength is fading away, all we ever see is this manna.” ⁷ Manna had the shape of coriander seed and it looked like resin. ⁸ The people would go around gathering it, and then they would grind it in a mill or beat it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. It tasted something like fresh olive oil. ⁹ The manna would come down when the dew settled upon the camp at night.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people weeping, each family at the entrance to their tent. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was greatly displeased. ¹¹ Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you torturing your servant? Have I not found favor in your sight, that you would burden me with this whole people? ¹² Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms like a nurse carries a small child to the land that I have promised to their ancestors?’ ¹³ Where can I get enough meat to give to all this people, for they cry to me saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴ I cannot carry this entire people by myself; they are too burdensome for me. ¹⁵ If this is the way that you are going to treat me, and if I have found favor in your sight, then please put me to death right now so I do not have to keep looking upon my misery.”

¹⁶ But the Lord said to Moses, “Bring me seventy men from among the elders of Israel whom you know to be elders and leaders of the people. Bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand there with yourself. ¹⁷ I will come down and speak to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and put it upon them. They will carry the burden of the people with you, so that you do not have to carry it alone. ¹⁸ Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow you will eat meat. You cried out in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? We were better off when we were in Egypt.” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. ¹⁹ You will not eat it for just one day, nor for two days, nor for five days, nor for ten days, nor for twenty days. ²⁰ You will eat it for a whole month, until your faces overflow with it, and you become sick of it, for you have despised the Lord who is among you and whom you have confronted crying out, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” ’ ”

²¹ But Moses said, “I am standing among six hundred thousand people on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat to eat for an entire month?’ ²² Shall the flocks and herds be slaughtered to satisfy their desires? Will all of the fish of the sea be gathered together to fill them?” ²³ The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited? Now you will see whether my word will be fulfilled or not.”

²⁴ Seventy Elders. So Moses went out and proclaimed the words of the Lord to the people. He brought seventy of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was upon him and placed it upon the seventy elders. When the Spirit descended upon them, they began to prophesy,^[g] although they did not do so again.

²⁶ But two men had remained in the camp. One was named Eldad, and the other was named Medad. The Spirit descended upon them. They had been on the list, but they had not gone out to the tabernacle. They began to prophesy in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and informed Moses, saying, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸ Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been an aide to Moses since he was young, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” ²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for me? Would that all of the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!” ³⁰ Moses then returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

³¹ Now a wind came forth from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea, making them fall near the camp. They were all around the camp, a day’s journey on one side and a day’s journey on the other side. They were piled up on the surface of the land two cubits high.

³² The people stayed up all day, and all night, and all the next day gathering the quail. The least that any of them gathered was ten homers. They spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³ But while the meat was still between their teeth and they were still chewing on it, the anger of the Lord arose against the people and the Lord struck the people with a horrible plague. ³⁴ This is why that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,^[h] because they buried the people who had fallen victim to their desires there. ³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and they camped there.

Chapter 12

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses. ¹ Miriam^[i] and Aaron criticized Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married, for he had married an Ethiopian woman. ² They said, “Has the Lord only spoken through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

³ Now Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else upon the face of the earth. ⁴ Suddenly the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, saying, “Come out, you three, from the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. ⁵ The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance to the tabernacle and summoned Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. ^6 [j]He said, “Hear now my words:

Why then were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?” ⁹ Then the anger of the Lord blazed against them, and he departed.

¹⁰ Miriam’s Punishment. When the cloud lifted up off of the tabernacle, there stood Miriam, leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward Miriam and saw that she was a leper. ¹¹ Aaron said to Moses, “Please, my lord, do not hold the sin against us that we have so foolishly committed! ¹² Let her not be like a stillborn child who comes forth from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.” ¹³ Moses cried out to the Lord, “O God, I beseech you, heal her!” ¹⁴ The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had only spit in her face, would she not have been shamed for seven days? Confine her outside of the camp for seven days. After that, let her be received back in.”

¹⁵ So Miriam was confined outside of the camp for seven days. The people did not move on until Miriam was brought back in. ¹⁶ After this, the people left Hazeroth and they camped in the Desert of Paran.

Chapter 13

Twelve Scouts.^{[k] 1} The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Send some men out to explore the land of Canaan that I am giving to the people of Israel. Send one of the leaders from each of the ancestral tribes.”

³ So Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran by command of the Lord, each of them being one of the heads of the people of Israel. ⁴ These are their names:

from the tribe of Reuben there was Shammua, the son of Zaccur;

⁵ from the tribe of Simeon there was Shaphat, the son of Hori;

⁶ from the tribe of Judah there was Caleb, the son of Jephunneh;

⁷ from the tribe of Issachar there was Igal, the son of Joseph;

⁸ from the tribe of Ephraim there was Hoshea, the son of Nun;

⁹ from the tribe of Benjamin there was Palti, the son of Raphu;

¹⁰ from the tribe of Zebulun there was Gaddiel, the son of Sodi;

¹¹ from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, there was Gaddi, the son of Susi;

¹² from the tribe of Dan there was Ammiel, the son of Gemalli;

¹³ from the tribe of Asher there was Sethur, the son of Michael;

¹⁴ from the tribe of Naphtali there was Nahbi, the son of Vophsi;

¹⁵ and from the tribe of Gad there was Geuel, the son of Machi.

¹⁶ These are the names of those whom Moses sent to explore the land. Moses gave Hoshea, the son of Nun, the name Joshua.

¹⁷ Moses sent them to explore the land of Canaan. He said to them, “Go up into the Negeb,^[l] then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like. Discover whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ How is the land upon which they are living, is it good or bad? How are the cities in which they dwell, are they open camps or fortified? ²⁰ How is the land, is it fertile or poor? Are there trees or not? Try to bring back some of the fruit of the land” (for it was the season of the first ripe grapes).

²¹ So they went up and explored the land, from the Desert of Zin up to Rehob, near the entrance to Lebo-hamath.^{[m] 22} They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of Anak dwelt. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol.^[n] There they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes. Two men carried it on a pole. They also brought along some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the Valley of Eschol because of the cluster of grapes that the people of Israel cut there.

²⁵ The Scouts’ Report. They returned from exploring the land at the end of forty days. ²⁶ They left and went back to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly of the people of Israel that was camped in Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. They brought back a report to them and showed the whole assembly the fruit of the land.

²⁷ Then they told Moses, “We went into the land into which you sent us, and it truly flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit. ²⁸ However, a powerful people dwells in that land, and the cities are highly fortified. Furthermore, we even saw the descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb, and the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people who were standing before Moses and he said, “Let us go at once to take possession of it, for we shall surely conquer it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We will not be able to go up against the people for they are surely stronger than we are.” ³² Thus, they brought a negative report of the land which they had explored for the people of Israel saying, “The land which we went through to explore is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw in it were immense. ³³ We saw giants there, the descendants of Anak (the Anak come from the Nephilim). We felt as if we were only grasshoppers, and we seemed like that to them.”^[o]

Chapter 14

The People Rebel.^{[p] 1} The whole assembly cried out and wept loudly that night. ² All the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole assembly said to them, “Would that we would have died in Egypt, or we had died in this desert! ³ Why did the Lord bring us into this land so that we fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will be taken as plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ They said to one another, “Let us choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt.”

⁵ Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered there. ⁶ Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. ⁷ They spoke to the entire assembly of the people of Israel saying, “The land we passed through and explored is a tremendously good land. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection is gone, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!”

The Lord’s Response.

¹⁰ But the whole assembly decided to stone them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting in front of all of the people of Israel. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? How long before they trust me, in spite of all the signs that I have performed in their midst? ¹² I will strike them down with a plague and I will destroy them. Then I will make a nation arise from you that is greater and mightier than they are.”^[q]

¹³ But Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your power you brought this people out from their midst. ¹⁴ They will report it to the people of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for you, O Lord, are seen face to face. Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ Now if you kill this people as if it were a single man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he promised them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, my Lord, show your great power, for as you have declared, ¹⁸ ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the father upon the sons to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ By your great mercy, I beseech you, forgive this people, just as you have forgiven this people ever since they left Egypt until now.”

²⁰ The Lord answered, “I have forgiven them, just as you have asked. ²¹ But assuredly, just as I live and the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, ²² because this entire people has witnessed my glory and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet they have put me to the test these ten times and have not heeded my voice, ²³ none of them will see the land that I promised to their fathers. None of those who despised me will see it. ²⁴ But I will bring my servant Caleb into the land that he entered because he has a different spirit and wholeheartedly follows me. His descendants will inherit it. ²⁵ Turn back tomorrow and set out for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea for the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valley.”

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²⁷ “How long will this wicked assembly grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel that they grumble against me. ²⁸ So I declare to them: As I live, says the Lord, I will make the things you have said in my hearing happen: ²⁹ your dead bodies will fall to the ground in this wilderness. None of you who are twenty years or older and who have complained about me ³⁰ will enter the land in which I swore I would make you dwell except for Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. ³¹ However, as for your little ones whom you said would become plunder, I will bring them in and they will come to know the land that you have despised. ³² But your dead bodies will fall to the ground in this wilderness. ³³ Your children will wander in this wilderness for forty years, and they will bear the burden of your unfaithfulness, until your dead bodies lie in the wilderness. ³⁴ The number of days that you explored the land was forty, and there will be one year for each day. You will bear the burden of your sins for forty years and you will come to know my rejection.^{[r] 35} I, the Lord, have proclaimed this. I will surely do this to this evil assembly that has gathered together against me. In this wilderness they will come to an end, there they will die.”

³⁶ The men whom Moses sent to explore the land, and who, when they returned, incited the assembly to complain against him by giving an evil report concerning the land, ³⁷ those men who brought the evil report concerning the land were struck down by a plague before the Lord. ³⁸ Of the men who went to explore the land, Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, survived.

³⁹ Doomed Invasion. When Moses reported these sayings to all the people of Israel, the people mourned bitterly. ⁴⁰ They rose up early the next morning and went to the top of the mountain and said, “Here we are! We have sinned, but we are ready to go up to the place that the Lord has promised.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the command of the Lord? This will not succeed. ⁴² Do not go up, for the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies. ⁴³ The Amalekites and the Canaanites are there in front of you. You will fall by the sword, because you turned away from the Lord. The Lord will not be with you.” ⁴⁴ In their presumption, they went up into the high hill country, but the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and Moses did not go out from the camp. ⁴⁵ The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in the hill country came down and attacked them and drove them back to Hormah.

Chapter 15

Additional Offerings. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: ‘When you come into the land of your dwelling that I will give you ³ and you make an offering by fire to the Lord, either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or on your appointed feast days, whether it be from the herd or the flock, in order to make a pleasing fragrance to the Lord, ⁴ then the person bringing his offering to the Lord should bring a cereal offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil.^{[s] 5} With each burnt offering or sacrifice of a lamb you are to make a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. ⁶ For a ram, you are to make a cereal offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil, ⁷ and for a drink offering you are to offer a third of a hin of wine, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.

⁸ “ ‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, whether to fulfill a vow or to make a peace offering to the Lord, ⁹ you will offer a cereal offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil along with the young bull, ¹⁰ and you will bring a drink offering of half a hin of wine. It will be an offering made by fire, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord. ¹¹ Each young bull or each ram, each lamb or each kid goat is to be prepared in this way. ¹² Whatever number you prepare, you shall do this with each one.

¹³ “ ‘All who were born in the land will do things this way when they present an offering by fire, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord. ¹⁴ If there is a foreigner living among you or a person living among you for generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord, let him do it as you have done it. ¹⁵ For the community, there is one ordinance for you and for the foreigner living in your midst, it is a perpetual ordinance for all your generations. Thus, you and the foreigner are the same before the Lord. ¹⁶ The same laws and statutes apply to you and the foreigner who is living in your midst.’ ”

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸ “Speak to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘When you enter into the land to which I am bringing you, ¹⁹ then when you eat the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the Lord. ²⁰ You shall lift up a cake from the first^[t] of your dough as an offering just as you present an offering from your threshing floor. ²¹ You shall give an offering to the Lord from the first of your dough for all your generations.

²² Atonement Offerings.“ ‘If by mistake you have not observed all the commandments that the Lord proclaimed through Moses, ²³ all that the Lord commanded through Moses, from the day that the Lord gave the commandments and onward through all your generations, ²⁴ this is what will be done: if the action was committed unintentionally and without the knowledge of the assembly, then the whole assembly is to offer up one young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord, along with its cereal and drink offerings, according to custom, as well as one kid goat as a sin offering. ²⁵ The priest shall make atonement for the whole assembly of the people of Israel, and it will be forgiven them, for it was unintentional. They will have brought a sacrifice by fire to the Lord, a sin offering to the Lord for their mistake. ²⁶ All of the assembly of the people of Israel and even the foreigner living among them shall be forgiven, for all the people participated in the mistake.

²⁷ “ ‘If a person sins unintentionally, then he is to offer up a year-old she-goat as a sin offering. ²⁸ The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who has sinned unintentionally. When atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. ²⁹ You shall have one law for those who sin unintentionally, whether they were born among the people of Israel or they are foreigners living in your midst.

³⁰ “ ‘But if someone does anything defiantly, whether he be native born or a foreigner, then that person blasphemes the Lord and is to be cut off from among his people. ³¹ Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, let that person be completely cut off, and let his guilt remain upon him.’ ”

³² Sabbath-breaker Punished.^[u] Now, while the people of Israel were in the desert, they came upon a man gathering wood on the Sabbath. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to the whole assembly ³⁴ and they put him under guard, for it had not yet been established what was to be done to him. ³⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Surely the man is to be put to death! Let the whole assembly stone him outside of the camp!” ³⁶ So the whole assembly took him outside of the camp, and they stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁷ Tassels on Garments.^[v] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸ “Speak to the people of Israel and tell them to have tassels on the corners of their garments throughout all their generations. Let them put a blue cord on the tassels of each corner. ³⁹ When you look at the tassels, you will remember the commandments of the Lord and keep them. Thus you will not prostitute yourselves by following after the lusts in your own heart or your own eyes. ⁴⁰ Then you will remember to obey all the commandments and you will be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord, your God.”

Chapter 16

Korah’s Rebellion. ¹ Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and some Reubenites, Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth took action ² and rose up against Moses. With them were some of the people of Israel, two hundred fifty leaders of the assembly, well known in the assembly and men of renown. ³ They gathered together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole assembly is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst. Why, then, do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”^[w]

⁴ When Moses heard this he fell on his face ⁵ and he spoke to Korah and his company, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will reveal who belongs to him and who is holy when he allows him to approach him. He will allow the one whom he has chosen to approach him. ⁶ Do this: you and Korah and all his followers are to take censers ⁷ before the Lord tomorrow and put fire and incense in them. The man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, you Levites!”

⁸ Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you Levites, ⁹ is it not enough that the God of Israel has set you apart from the assembly of Israel to bring you onto himself, to minister in the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the assembly serving them? ¹⁰ He has brought you and all your brethren, the Levites, onto himself, and still you seek the priesthood too? ¹¹ For this you and all your company have gathered together against the Lord. Who is Aaron that you should complain about him?”

¹² Rebellion of Dathan and Abiram. Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. They responded, “We will not come up! ¹³ Is it not enough that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? Now you are going to make yourself a prince over us? ¹⁴ Indeed, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor have you given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Are you going to gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come up!”

¹⁵ Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any of them.” ¹⁶ Then Moses said to Korah, “You and your company are to appear before the Lord tomorrow, you, and them, and Aaron. ¹⁷ Each of you is to bring your censer and put incense in it. Each of you is to bring his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers. You and Aaron will also each bring a censer.” ^18 [x]So each took his own censer, put fire and incense in them, and stood at the entrance to the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ The whole assembly gathered against them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole assembly.

²⁰ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²¹ “Move away from this assembly so that I can destroy them at once.” ²² But Moses and Aaron fell down upon their faces and said, “O God, O God of the spirits of all flesh,^[y] will you be angry with the whole assembly because of the sin of one person?”

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴ “Speak to the assembly, saying, ‘Draw back from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

²⁵ Punishment of Dathan and Abiram. Then Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel. ²⁶ He spoke to the assembly, saying, “Draw back from the tents of these wicked men, and do not touch anything that belongs to them, or else you will be swept away in all their sin.” ²⁷ So they backed away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the entranceway of their tents along with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. ²⁸ Moses said, “By this you shall know that the Lord sent me to do all these things, for they are not of my own doing. ²⁹ If these men end up dying a natural death and are visited by every person’s fate, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord creates something new and the earth opens up and swallows them and all that belongs to them and they go down alive into Sheol,^[z] then you will understand that they have treated the Lord with contempt.”

³¹ As soon as he finished saying these things, the ground split apart underneath them. ³² The earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them and their households as well as the men who were with Korah and all their possessions. ³³ So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol and the earth closed over them. They perished from the assembly. ³⁴ All of Israel that had gathered around them fled at their outcry for they said, “The earth might swallow us up too!” ³⁵ Fire came out from the Lord and swallowed up the two hundred and fifty who had offered incense.

³⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷ “Speak to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, and have him gather up the censers^[aa] from the blaze for they are holy. Scatter the burning coals over there. ³⁸ The censers of these sinners will bear witness against them. Hammer them into sheets to cover the altar, for they have been presented to the Lord and they are therefore holy. They will be a warning to the people of Israel.”

³⁹ Eleazar took the bronze censers with which the men who had been destroyed by fire had made their offering, and they hammered them into sheets to cover the altar. ⁴⁰ They were to be a reminder to the people of Israel that no one other than a descendant of Aaron was to draw near to offer incense to the Lord lest what happened to Korah and his company happen to them. He did this as the Lord had commanded him through Moses.

⁴¹ The very next day the whole assembly of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people.” ⁴² When the assembly had gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron, they looked up toward the tent of meeting and, behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.

⁴³ Moses and Aaron stood in front of the tent of meeting ⁴⁴ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵ “Stand away from this assembly so that I can quickly put an end to them.” Then they fell down on their faces. ⁴⁶ Moses said to Aaron, “Take a censer and put fire from the altar in it and put incense in it. Go out quickly to the assembly to make atonement for them, for anger has gone out from the Lord and the plague has begun.”

⁴⁷ So Aaron did what Moses had commanded him and he ran out into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already begun among the people. He put in incense and made atonement for the people. ⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague halted. ⁴⁹ There were fourteen thousand and seven hundred who died in the plague (not counting those who died on account of Korah). ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting for the plague had been halted.

Chapter 17

Aaron’s Staff.^{[ab] 1} The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and take one staff from the leaders of each of the ancestral tribes, and write each of their names on the twelve staffs. ³ Write Aaron’s name upon the staff of Levi, for there is one staff for the leader of each of the ancestral tribes. ⁴ You are to lay them in the tent of meeting in front of the Testimony where I meet with you. ⁵ The staff of the man whom I choose will blossom. Thus I will bring an end to the grumblings of the people of Israel against you.” ⁶ Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and all of the leaders gave him one staff each, one for each of the twelve ancestral tribes, and the staff of Aaron was among the other staffs. ⁷ So Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of meeting.

⁸ The next day, Moses went into the tent of meeting. The staff of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had blossomed and brought forth buds.^[ac] It was blooming and producing almonds. ⁹ Moses brought all of the staffs from before the Lord out to the people of Israel. They looked at them, and each man took his staff.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s staff before the Testimony to be kept as a warning to the rebels. This should end their grumblings against me, so that they may not have to die.” ¹¹ Moses did this. He did as the Lord had commanded him. ¹² Then the people of Israel spoke to Moses saying, “We are dying, we are lost! We are all lost! ¹³ Anyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we going to die?”

Chapter 18

Sanctuary and Altar Duties. ¹ The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your family with you will bear guilt for offenses against the sanctuary, while you and your sons will bear guilt for offenses against your priesthood. ² Bring your brothers from the Levites, your ancestral tribe, with you. Let them join with you and serve you when you and your sons are before the tent of Testimony. ³ They will attend to your duties and all the duties of the tent, but they must not come near the vessels of the sanctuary or the altar, lest they die and you also die. ⁴ They will join you and attend to the duties of the tent of meeting, for every service in the tabernacle. Let no one else approach you.

⁵ “You will attend to the duties of the sanctuary and the duties of the altar so that no wrath come upon the people of Israel. ⁶ It is I, myself, who have selected your brothers, the Levites, from among the people of Israel as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord, to serve in the tent of meeting. ⁷ Only you and your sons can serve as priests for everything concerning the altar and whatever is inside the veil, and you will serve. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near will be put to death.”^[ad]

Priests’ Share of Offerings. ⁸ The Lord spoke to Aaron: “I have given you responsibility over all my offerings, over all the sacred things of the people of Israel. I have given these things to you and your sons as a portion, a perpetual allotment. ⁹ This shall be yours from among the most holy things dedicated by fire: all of their oblations, all of their cereal offerings, all of their sin offerings and all of their guilt offerings. These things that they offer to me will be most holy to you and your sons. ¹⁰ You will eat it in a Most Holy Place. Every male will eat it. It will be holy for you.

¹¹ “This also is yours: the offering of their gifts along with the wave offerings of the people of Israel. I have given them to you and your sons and daughters as your portion forever. Everyone who is pure in your household can eat it. ¹² I have given to you all of the best of the oil and the best of the wine and of the wheat and their firstfruits that they offer to the Lord. ¹³ The first ripe fruits of all that is in the land that they bring to the Lord shall be yours. Everyone who is pure in your household can eat it.

¹⁴ “Everything that is dedicated^[ae] to the Lord will be yours. ¹⁵ Everything that opens the womb of all flesh that they bring to the Lord, whether man or beast, shall be yours. Nevertheless, you will redeem the firstborn son and you will redeem the firstborn male of impure animals. ¹⁶ When they are a month old, you shall redeem them at the redemption price of five shekels of silver, calculated according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which weighs twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ You are not to redeem the firstborn of the cattle or the firstborn of the sheep or the firstborn of the goats, for they are holy. Sprinkle their blood upon the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord. ¹⁸ Their meat shall be yours, as well as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh. These are yours. ¹⁹ All of the offerings of the holy things that the people of Israel bring to the Lord, I have given them to you and your sons and your daughters with you as an ordinance forever. This is a covenant of salt forever between the Lord and you and your descendants with you.”^[af]

²⁰ The Lord spoke to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

²¹ Tithes Owed to the Levites.“I give the Levites all the tithes in Israel, an inheritance for the work that they perform in serving in the tent of meeting. ²² From now on the people of Israel must not approach the tent of meeting lest they sin and die. ²³ The Levites will do the work of the tent of meeting. They will bear responsibility for offenses against it. This is an everlasting ordinance for all your generations. They will receive no inheritance from among the people of Israel. ²⁴ I have given the Levites an inheritance of the tithes that the people of Israel present as an offering to the Lord. This is why I have said to them, ‘They will have no inheritance among the people of Israel.’ ”

²⁵ Tithes Paid by the Levites.^[ag] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “Speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you receive a tithe from the people of Israel which I give you as an inheritance, you are to present a tithe of the tithe as the Lord’s offering. ²⁷ Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or as produce from the winepress. ²⁸ You shall present an offering to the Lord from all your tithes that you receive from the people of Israel; you will give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest from them. ²⁹ The Lord’s offering will come from the best and the holiest portion of all the gifts that you offer up.’ ³⁰ Therefore, you will say to them, ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, the rest will be apportioned to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and the produce of the winepress. ³¹ You can eat it anywhere, you and your households, as your reward for your service in the tent of meeting. ³² You will bear no guilt in this when you offer up the best of it, nor will you defile the holy gifts of Israel, lest you die.’ ”

Chapter 19

The Red Heifer. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ² “This is a statute of the law which the Lord has commanded saying, ‘Tell the people of Israel to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and upon which a yoke has never been placed. ³ You will give it to Eleazar the priest. Take it outside of the camp and slaughter it in front of him. ⁴ Eleazar the priest is to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle its blood seven times directly in front of the tent of meeting. ⁵ Then the heifer will be burned before him; its skin, its meat, its blood, and its dung will be burned. ⁶ The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them upon the burning heifer. ⁷ The priest is then to wash his clothes and bathe himself. He can then enter the camp, but he will be unclean until the evening. ⁸ The man who burns it must also wash his clothes in water and bathe in water, but he, too, will be unclean until the evening. ⁹ A man who is clean is to gather up the ashes from the heifer and place them in a clean place outside of the camp. They will be kept by the assembly of the people of Israel for the water of purification, for removal of sin. ¹⁰ The man who gathers the ashes of the heifer will wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until the evening. This is the way it will be for the people of Israel and the foreigner dwelling among them, a statute forever.

¹¹ Water of Purification.“ ‘Whoever touches a person’s dead body will be unclean for seven days. ¹² He will purify himself with the water on the third day, and on the seventh day he will be clean; but if he does not cleanse himself on the third day, then he will not be clean on the seventh day. ¹³ Whoever touches a dead body, the body of someone who died and then does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He will be unclean because the water of purification was not sprinkled upon him; he will be unclean.

¹⁴ “ ‘This is the law for when a man dies inside of a tent. Everyone who comes inside the tent and everything that is in the tent will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁵ Every open uncovered container will be unclean. ¹⁶ Anyone who is out in the open fields and touches someone who has been killed with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a person, or a grave, that person will be unclean for seven days.

^17 [ah]“ ‘For the unclean, take the ashes from the burnt purification from sin and put them into a vessel and pour fresh water over them. ¹⁸ Then a person who is clean will dip hyssop into the water and sprinkle it upon the tent and upon its belongings and upon all the people who were there, upon anyone who touched a bone, or a person who was killed, or a dead body, or a grave. ¹⁹ The clean person will sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. On the seventh day he will purify himself. He will wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and then he will be clean in the evening. ²⁰ But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself will be cut off from the assembly because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification was not sprinkled upon him and he is unclean. ²¹ It will be an everlasting statute that the one who sprinkles the water of purification will wash his clothes. The one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until the evening. ²² Whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean, and the person who touches it will be unclean until the evening.’ ”

Chapter 20

Death of Miriam.^{[ai] 1} The people of Israel, the whole assembly, came into the Desert of Zin in the first month,^[aj] and the people stayed in Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.

The Need for Water. ² The community had no water, and they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. ³ They argued with Moses and said, “Would that we would have died when our brothers fell before the Lord. ⁴ Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness so that we die here, both we and our cattle? ⁵ Why have you made us come out of Egypt to this evil place? It has no grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates. There is no water to drink!”

Moses and Aaron Sin. ⁶ Moses and Aaron went from in front of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting. They fell upon their faces, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and Aaron your brother are to gather the assembly together. Speak to the rock in their sight and it will pour forth water. You will bring forth water from the rock for the assembly and their animals to drink.”

⁹ Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he had been commanded. ¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring forth water out of this rock for you?” ^11 [ak]Then Moses lifted up his arm and he struck the rock with his staff twice. Water came gushing out, and the community and their animals drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not trusted and hallowed me in the eyes of the people of Israel, you will not lead this community into the land that I have given them. ¹³ This is the water of Meribah, because the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and he showed himself to be bold among them.”^[al]

¹⁴ Israel Denied Passage.^[am] Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom saying, “Thus says Israel, your brother, ‘You know all the hardships that have come upon us. ¹⁵ Our ancestors went down to Egypt and lived there for many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers. ¹⁶ When we cried out, he heard our voice and sent an angel to bring us out of Egypt. We are now in Kadesh, a town at the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please, let us pass through your land. We will not walk through the vineyards nor drink from the wells. We will pass along the King’s Highway, and we will not turn to the right nor to the left until we have crossed over your borders.’ ”

¹⁸ But Edom said, “You will not pass through. Otherwise, I will come out against you with the sword.”

¹⁹ The people of Israel replied, “We will go along the main road. If my cattle drink from your water, I will pay for it. Only let me pass through on foot, nothing else.” ²⁰ But he said, “You will not pass through.” Edom came out against the people with a great and powerful force. ²¹ Since Edom refused to let Israel pass through its territory, Israel turned away from it.

²² The Death of Aaron. When they left Kadesh, the whole assembly of the people of Israel came to Mount Hor. ²³ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor near the border of Edom and said, ²⁴ “Aaron is going to be gathered to his people.^[an] He will not enter the land that I have promised to the people of Israel because you disobeyed my command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor. ²⁶ Take Aaron’s garments off and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron is to be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

²⁷ So Moses did as the Lord had commanded. They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the assembly. ²⁸ Moses removed Aaron’s garments and he put them upon Eleazar, his son. Aaron died on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar then came down the mountain. ²⁹ The whole assembly learned that Aaron had died. The whole house of Israel mourned for Aaron for thirty days.

Chapter 21

Israel Destroys Arad. ¹ When the Canaanite king Arad (who lived in the Negeb) heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the people of Israel and took some of them prisoner. ^2 [ao]Israel made a vow to the Lord saying, “If you will deliver this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their cities!” ³ The Lord listened to the plea of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites. They totally destroyed them and their cities, therefore the place is called Hormah.

The Bronze Serpent.^{[ap] 4} They traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea in order to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became discouraged along the way. ⁵ The people spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to have us die in the desert. There is no bread, no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”^[aq]

⁶ The Lord sent seraph^[ar] serpents among the people. They bit the people, and many of the people of Israel died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord so that he might save us from the serpents.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a seraph serpent and put it upon a pole. Whoever has been bitten and looks upon it will live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it upon a pole. If someone had been bitten by a serpent and he looked up at the bronze serpent, he lived.

¹⁰ The Move to Moab. The people of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth. ¹¹ They left Oboth and camped in Iye-abarim in the desert that lie to the east of Moab. ¹² From there they moved on and camped in the Valley of Zered. ¹³ They then moved on from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon in the desert that extends from the boundary of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary of Moab, the border between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Thus, it is written in the Book of Wars of the Lord,

¹⁶ From there they continued on to Beer, which is where the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Gather up the people and I will give them water.”

¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song,

From the desert they continued on to Mattanah, ¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley in the land of Moab which is on the heights of the Pisgah overlooking the wasteland.

²¹ Victory over Sihon and Og.^[as] Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, ²² “Let us pass through your land. We will not wander into the fields nor into the vineyards. We will not drink water from any well. We will pass along the King’s Highway until we have crossed over your borders.”

²³ But Sihon would not allow Israel to cross over his border. Sihon gathered all of his people and marched out into the desert against Israel. He went out to Jahaz and fought with Israel.

²⁴ But Israel put him to the sword and occupied his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok up to the Ammonite territory (for the boundary with the Ammonites was fortified). ²⁵ Israel captured all of these cities, and Israel settled in all of the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all of its surrounding villages. ²⁶ Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, for he had fought with the former king of Moab, conquering all of his lands up to the Arnon. ^27 [at]This is why those who speak in proverbs say,

³¹ So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. ³² Moses sent out spies to Jazer, and they captured those villages, driving out the Amorites who lived there. ³³ They then turned and went along the road to Bashan.^[av] Og, the king of Bashan, went out with all his people to battle them in Edrei.

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him and all his people and land into your hands. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon.” ³⁵ So they killed him and his sons and all of his people until there was not a single one alive, and they conquered his land.

Chapter 22^[aw]

^1 [ax]Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

Balak Summons Balaam. ² Now Balak, the son of Zippor, had seen everything that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³ and Moab was terrified because there were so many people, and Moab was filled with dread of the people of Israel. ⁴ Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will lick up everything around us just like an ox licks up grass in the pasture.”

Balak, the son of Zippor, was the king of the Moabites at this time. ⁵ He sent messengers to Pethor which is near the river^[ay] in his native land, to Balaam, the son of Beor, to summon him. He said, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the earth. They are now living opposite me. ⁶ Please come now and curse this people for me for they are too powerful for me. Maybe then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. I know well that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”

⁷ The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left, carrying the fee for the divination in their hands. They came to Balaam, and they told him what Balak had said. ⁸ He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring you the answer the Lord gives me.” So the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, sent for me, saying, ¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt who now covers the face of the earth. Now come and curse them for me. Perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them away.’ ” ¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Do not curse the people, for they are blessed.”^[az]

¹³ The next morning Balaam arose and said to Balak’s representatives, “Go back to your country, for the Lord refuses to allow me to go with you.”

¹⁴ The leaders of Moab returned and said to Balak, “Balaam refused to come with us.” ¹⁵ So Balak sent some more leaders, even more distinguished than the others. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak, the son of Zippor: ‘Please, let nothing keep you from coming to me ¹⁷ for I will honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you ask of me. Please come and curse this people.’ ” ¹⁸ Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak: “If Balak were to grant me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, small or great, contrary to the word of the Lord, my God. ¹⁹ But now, please stay here this night as well, so that I may know what the Lord says to me.” ²⁰ God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If these men have come to summon you, rise up and go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

²¹ Balaam’s Donkey. Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab. ²² But God grew very angry because he had gone, and so an angel of the Lord blocked his path on the roadway. He was riding on a donkey and his two servants were with him. ²³ The donkey saw the angel of the Lord^[ba] standing in the roadway with his drawn sword in his hand, and the donkey left the roadway and wandered into the field. Balaam beat the donkey to force it back onto the roadway.

²⁴ Then an angel of the Lord stood in the narrow pathway in the vineyards, walls standing on either side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed so close to the wall that it crushed Balaam’s foot against it, so he beat it again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place that had no room to turn either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam who became angry and beat it with a staff.

²⁸ The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” ²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me. If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” ³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have always ridden, even til today? Have I ever done this to you before?” He said, “No.” ³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. He bowed down and fell flat on his face. ³² The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you for the path before you is wrong. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. Otherwise, I would surely have killed you, but it I would have spared.”

³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize that you were standing there opposing my way. If I have displeased you, then I will go back.” ³⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the leaders to Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to Moab to meet him, a city which is on the Arnon border, at the farthest edge of his territory. ³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not summon you urgently? Why have you not come to me? Am I not able to reward you?” ³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you now. Do I have any power to say anything? I will only speak the word that God puts in my mouth.”

³⁹ Balaam went with Balak, and they arrived in Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some of its meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him. ⁴¹ The next day Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal so that he might see the outposts of the people.

Chapter 23

Balaam’s First Oracle.^{[bb] 1} Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven oxen and seven rams for me.” ² Balak did what Balaam had told him to do. Then Balak and Balaam offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. ³ Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your offerings, and I will go off a bit. Perhaps the Lord will come to visit me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” He then went off to a high place.

⁴ God visited Balaam. He said, “I have prepared seven altars and I have offered a young bull and a ram upon each altar.” ⁵ The Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and proclaim this.”

⁶ So he returned to him and found him standing by his sacrifice, he and the leaders of Moab. ⁷ Then he proclaimed his oracle:

¹¹ Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have bountifully blessed them.” ¹² But he answered, “Must I not proclaim what the Lord has put into my mouth?”

¹³ Balaam’s Second Oracle. Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place. There you will be able to see them, but only their outposts; you will not see all of them. You can curse them for me from there.”

¹⁴ So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and he offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵ He said to Balak, “Stand here by your offering, and I will meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶ The Lord visited Balaam and put a word in his mouth saying, “Go back again to Balak and proclaim this.”

¹⁷ He returned to him. He was standing by his offering, he and the leaders of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?” ¹⁸ He took up his oracle and said,

²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Then do not either curse them in any way or bless them in any way!” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak saying, “Did I not tell you: ‘All that the Lord says I must do!’ ”

²⁷ Balaam’s Third Oracle. Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place. Perhaps God will allow you to curse them for me here.” ²⁸ Then Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, to a place that faced Jeshimon. ²⁹ Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me.” ³⁰ Balak did what Balaam had told him to do, and he offered a young bull and a ram on each of the altars.

Chapter 24

¹ When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to seek omens as he did before, but rather faced the wilderness. ² Balaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God came upon him^{[be] 3} and he took up his oracle:

¹⁰ Balak became enraged at Balaam. Balak clasped his hands together and said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Now then, leave and go home. I told you that I would reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from being paid.”

¹² But Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers who sent for me, ¹³ ‘If Balak were to give me a house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord on my own either for good or for bad. Whatever the Lord proclaims, that I must speak!’ ¹⁴ Now I am going back to my own people; come, allow me to let you know what this people will do to your people in the future.”

¹⁵ Balaam’s Fourth Oracle. So he took up the oracle and said,

²¹ He looked upon the Kenites^[bj] and took up his oracle and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam got up and went home, and Balak also went his way.

Chapter 25

Israel Worships Baal of Peor. ¹ While Israel dwelt in Shittim,^[bl] the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. ² They invited the people to sacrifice to their gods. The people ate and worshiped their gods. ³ So Israel yoked himself to Baal^[bm] of Peor. The Lord grew angry at Israel ⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, “Take all of the leaders of the people and hang them before the Lord in broad daylight^[bn] so that the rage of the Lord turns away from Israel.”

⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you is to kill those who joined themselves to Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Then one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his relatives before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of the whole assembly of the people of Israel who were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Phinehas’ Zeal for God. ⁷ When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly, taking a spear in his hand. ⁸ He followed the Israelite into the tent. He then drove it through both of them, through the Israelite and into the woman’s stomach. This is how the plague among the people of Israel was stopped. ⁹ Yet, twenty-four thousand died^[bo] in the plague.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has calmed my anger at the people of Israel. He was zealous for my sake among them so that I not consume the people of Israel in my zeal. ¹² Therefore, say, ‘I establish my covenant of peace with him. ¹³ He will have it, and his descendants after him, as a covenant for an everlasting priesthood. He was zealous for his God, and he made atonement for the people of Israel.’ ”

¹⁴ Now the name of the Israelite who was slain along with the Midianite woman was Zimri, the son of Salu, a leader of the ancestral tribe of the Simeonites. ¹⁵ The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal leader of an ancestral tribe of Midian.

¹⁶ Downfall of the Midianites. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “Harass the Midianites and slay them ¹⁸ for they harassed you with their schemes when they seduced you in the affair at Peor and in the affair of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was slain on the day of the plague because of Peor.”