Numbers 24–26

Chapter 24

By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness, ²where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, ³and this is the message he delivered:

“This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,

the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,

⁴the message of one who hears the words of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

who bows down with eyes wide open:

⁵How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob;

how lovely are your homes, O Israel!

⁶They spread before me like palm groves,

like gardens by the riverside.

They are like tall trees planted by the Lord,

like cedars beside the waters.

⁷Water will flow from their buckets;

their offspring have all they need.

Their king will be greater than Agag;

their kingdom will be exalted.

⁸God brought them out of Egypt;

for them he is as strong as a wild ox.

He devours all the nations that oppose him,

breaking their bones in pieces,

shooting them with arrows.

⁹Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down;

like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?

Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,

and cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, “I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times. ¹¹Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.”

¹²Balaam told Balak, “Don’t you remember what I told your messengers? I said, ¹³‘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.’ I told you that I could say only what the Lord says! ¹⁴Now 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

¹⁵This is the message Balaam delivered:

“This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,

the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,

¹⁶the 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:

¹⁷I 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.

¹⁸Edom will be taken over,

and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered,

while Israel marches on in triumph.

¹⁹A ruler will rise in Jacob

who will destroy the survivors of Ir.”

²⁰Then Balaam looked over toward the people of Amalek and delivered this message:

“Amalek was the greatest of nations,

but its destiny is destruction!”

²¹Then he looked over toward the Kenites and delivered this message:

“Your home is secure;

your nest is set in the rocks.

²²But the Kenites will be destroyed

when Assyria takes you captive.”

²³Balaam concluded his messages by saying:

“Alas, who can survive

unless God has willed it?

²⁴Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus;

they will oppress Assyria and afflict Eber,

but they, too, will be utterly destroyed.”

²⁵Then Balaam left and returned home, and Balak also went on his way.

Chapter 25

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. ²These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. ³In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord’s anger to blaze against his people.

⁴The 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.”

⁵So 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.”

⁶Just 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. ⁷When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. He took a spear ⁸and 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, ⁹but not before 24,000 people had died.

¹⁰Then 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. ¹²Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. ¹³In 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.”

¹⁴The Israelite man killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁵The woman’s name was Cozbi; she was the daughter of Zur, the leader of a Midianite clan.

¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷“Attack the Midianites and destroy them, ¹⁸because 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.”

Chapter 26

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.”

³So 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 twenty years old and older, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

This is the record of all the descendants of Israel who came out of Egypt.

The Tribe of Reuben

⁵These were the clans descended from the sons of Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son:

The Hanochite clan, named after their ancestor Hanoch.

The Palluite clan, named after their ancestor Pallu.

⁶The Hezronite clan, named after their ancestor Hezron.

The Carmite clan, named after their ancestor Carmi.

⁷These were the clans of Reuben. Their registered troops numbered 43,730.

⁸Pallu was the ancestor of Eliab, ⁹and Eliab was the father of Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. This Dathan and Abiram are the same community leaders who conspired with Korah against Moses and Aaron, rebelling against the Lord. ¹⁰But the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed them with Korah, and fire devoured 250 of their followers. This served as a warning to the entire nation of Israel. ¹¹However, the sons of Korah did not die that day.

The Tribe of Simeon

¹²These were the clans descended from the sons of Simeon:

The Jemuelite clan, named after their ancestor Jemuel.

The Jaminite clan, named after their ancestor Jamin.

The Jakinite clan, named after their ancestor Jakin.

¹³The Zoharite clan, named after their ancestor Zohar.

The Shaulite clan, named after their ancestor Shaul.

¹⁴These were the clans of Simeon. Their registered troops numbered 22,200.

The Tribe of Gad

¹⁵These were the clans descended from the sons of Gad:

The Zephonite clan, named after their ancestor Zephon.

The Haggite clan, named after their ancestor Haggi.

The Shunite clan, named after their ancestor Shuni.

¹⁶The Oznite clan, named after their ancestor Ozni.

The Erite clan, named after their ancestor Eri.

¹⁷The Arodite clan, named after their ancestor Arodi.

The Arelite clan, named after their ancestor Areli.

¹⁸These were the clans of Gad. Their registered troops numbered 40,500.

The Tribe of Judah

¹⁹Judah had two sons, Er and Onan, who had died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰These were the clans descended from Judah’s surviving sons:

The Shelanite clan, named after their ancestor Shelah.

The Perezite clan, named after their ancestor Perez.

The Zerahite clan, named after their ancestor Zerah.

²¹These were the subclans descended from the Perezites:

The Hezronites, named after their ancestor Hezron.

The Hamulites, named after their ancestor Hamul.

²²These were the clans of Judah. Their registered troops numbered 76,500.

The Tribe of Issachar

²³These were the clans descended from the sons of Issachar:

The Tolaite clan, named after their ancestor Tola.

The Puite clan, named after their ancestor Puah.

²⁴The Jashubite clan, named after their ancestor Jashub.

The Shimronite clan, named after their ancestor Shimron.

²⁵These were the clans of Issachar. Their registered troops numbered 64,300.

The Tribe of Zebulun

²⁶These were the clans descended from the sons of Zebulun:

The Seredite clan, named after their ancestor Sered.

The Elonite clan, named after their ancestor Elon.

The Jahleelite clan, named after their ancestor Jahleel.

²⁷These were the clans of Zebulun. Their registered troops numbered 60,500.

The Tribe of Manasseh

²⁸Two clans were descended from Joseph through Manasseh and Ephraim.

²⁹These were the clans descended from Manasseh:

The Makirite clan, named after their ancestor Makir.

The Gileadite clan, named after their ancestor Gilead, Makir’s son.

³⁰These were the subclans descended from the Gileadites:

The Iezerites, named after their ancestor Iezer.

The Helekites, named after their ancestor Helek.

³¹The Asrielites, named after their ancestor Asriel.

The Shechemites, named after their ancestor Shechem.

³²The Shemidaites, named after their ancestor Shemida.

The Hepherites, named after their ancestor Hepher.

³³(One of Hepher’s descendants, Zelophehad, had no sons, but his daughters’ names were Mahlah, Noah,…