HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 513
page 143
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it destroyed the rulers of the Arnon
heights.
What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab!
You are finished, O worshipers of
Chemosh!
Chemosh has left his sons as refugees,
his daughters as captives of Sihon,
the Amorite king.
We have utterly destroyed them,
from Heshbon to Dibon.
We have completely wiped them out
as far away as Nophah and Medeba.*”
31 So the people of Israel occupied the territory of the Amorites. 32 After Moses sent men
to explore the Jazer area, they captured all the
towns in the region and drove out the Amorites who lived there. 33 Then they turned and
marched up the road to Bashan, but King Og
of Bashan and all his people attacked them at
Edrei. 34 The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be
afraid of him, for I have handed him over to
you, along with all his people and his land. Do
the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the
Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” 35 And Israel
killed King Og, his sons, and all his subjects;
not a single survivor remained. Then Israel occupied their land.
Balak Sends for Balaam
Then the people of Israel traveled to the
plains of Moab and camped east of the
Jordan River, across from Jericho. 2 Balak son of
Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything
the Israelites did to the Amorites. 3 And when
the people of Moab saw how many Israelites
there were, they were terrified. 4 The king of
Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob
will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!”
So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers
to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in
his native land of Pethor* near the Euphrates
River.* His message said:
22
“Look, a vast horde of people has arrived
from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth
and are threatening me. 6 Please come and
curse these people for me because they are
too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be
able to conquer them and drive them from
the land. I know that blessings fall on any
people you bless, and curses fall on people
you curse.”
7 Balak’s messengers, who were elders of
Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay
Balaam to place a curse upon Israel.* They
went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message
21:30 Or until fire spread to Medeba. The meaning of the
Hebrew is uncertain. 22:5a Or who was at Pethor in the land
of the Amavites. 22:5b Hebrew the river. 22:7 Hebrew set
out with the money of divination in their hand.
NUM B ER S 22
to him. 8 “Stay here overnight,” Balaam said. “In
the morning I will tell you whatever the Lord
directs me to say.” So the officials from Moab
stayed there with Balaam.
9 That night God came to Balaam and asked
him, “Who are these men visiting you?”
10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor,
king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 ‘Look,
a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt,
and they cover the face of the earth. Come and
curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will
be able to stand up to them and drive them from
the land.’”
12 But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them.
You are not to curse these people, for they have
been blessed!”
13 The next morning Balaam got up and told
Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The Lord will
not let me go with you.”
14 So the Moabite officials returned to King
Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come
with us.” 15 Then Balak tried again. This time
he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first
time. 16 They went to Balaam and delivered this
message to him:
“This is what Balak son of Zippor says:
Please don’t let anything stop you from
coming to help me. 17 I will pay you very well
and do whatever you tell me. Just come and
curse these people for me!”
18 But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace
filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless
to do anything against the will of the Lord my
God. 19 But stay here one more night, and I will
see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.”
20 That night God came to Balaam and told
him, “Since these men have come for you, get
up and go with them. But do only what I tell
you to do.”
Balaam and His Donkey
21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled
his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam
was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to
stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam
and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam’s
donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in
the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The
donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place
where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel
of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed
Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat
the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord
moved farther down the road and stood in a