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N U MBERS 2 5
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.’ I told you
that I could say only what the Lord says! 14 Now
I am returning to my own people. But first let
me tell you what the Israelites will do to your
people in the future.”
Balaam’s Final Messages
15 This is the message Balaam delivered:
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“This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,
the message of the man whose eyes see
clearly,
the message of one who hears the words
of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who bows down with eyes wide open:
I see him, but not here and now.
I perceive him, but far in the distant future.
A star will rise from Jacob;
a scepter will emerge from Israel.
It will crush the heads of Moab’s people,
cracking the skulls* of the people of Sheth.
Edom will be taken over,
and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered,
while Israel marches on in triumph.
A ruler will rise in Jacob
who will destroy the survivors of Ir.”
20 Then Balaam looked over toward the people of
Amalek and delivered this message:
“Amalek was the greatest of nations,
but its destiny is destruction!”
21 Then
he looked over toward the Kenites and
delivered this message:
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“Your home is secure;
your nest is set in the rocks.
But the Kenites will be destroyed
when Assyria* takes you captive.”
23 Balaam
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concluded his messages by saying:
“Alas, who can survive
unless God has willed it?
Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus*;
they will oppress Assyria and afflict Eber,
but they, too, will be utterly destroyed.”
25 Then Balaam left and returned home, and
Balak also went on his way.
Moab Seduces Israel
While the Israelites were camped at
Acacia Grove,* some of the men defiled
themselves by having* sexual relations with
local Moabite women. 2 These women invited
them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the
Israelites feasted with them and worshiped
the gods of Moab. 3 In this way, Israel joined in
the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord’s
anger to blaze against his people.
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4 The Lord issued the following command to
Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute
them before the Lord in broad daylight, so
his fierce anger will turn away from the people
of Israel.”
5 So Moses ordered Israel’s judges, “Each
of you must put to death the men under your
authority who have joined in worshiping Baal
of Peor.”
6 Just then one of the Israelite men brought a
Midianite woman into his tent, right before the
eyes of Moses and all the people, as everyone
was weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle.*
7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of
Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left
the assembly. He took a spear 8 and rushed after
the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear
all the way through the man’s body and into the
woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, 9 but not before 24,000
people had died.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas
son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest
has turned my anger away from the Israelites
by being as zealous among them as I was. So I
stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended
to do in my zealous anger. 12 Now tell him that I
am making my special covenant of peace with
him. 13 In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood,
for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the
people of Israel, making them right with me.*”
14 The Israelite man killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu, the
leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon.
15 The woman’s name was Cozbi; she was the
daughter of Zur, the leader of a Midianite clan.
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, 17 “Attack the
Midianites and destroy them, 18 because they
assaulted you with deceit and tricked you into
worshiping Baal of Peor, and because of Cozbi,
the daughter of a Midianite leader, who was
killed at the time of the plague because of what
happened at Peor.”
The Second Registration of Israel’s Troops
After the plague had ended,* the Lord
said to Moses and to Eleazar son of
Aaron the priest, 2 “From the whole community
of Israel, record the names of all the warriors by
their families. List all the men twenty years old
or older who are able to go to war.”
3 So there on the plains of Moab beside the
Jordan River, across from Jericho, Moses and
Eleazar the priest issued these instructions to
the leaders of Israel: 4 “List all the men of Israel
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24:17 As in Samaritan Pentateuch; the meaning of the Hebrew
word is uncertain. 24:22 Hebrew Asshur; also in 24:24.
24:24 Hebrew Kittim. 25:1a Hebrew Shittim. 25:1b As in
Greek version; Hebrew reads some of the men began having.
25:6 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting. 25:13 Or he made atonement
for the people of Israel. 26:1 The initial phrase in verse 26:1 is
numbered 25:19 in Hebrew text.