Chapter 24

The Prophecy from Peor

1 When Balaam saw that it 1pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to 2seek aomens but he set his face toward the bwilderness.

2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel 1camping tribe by tribe; and athe Spirit of God came upon him.

3 He took up his 1discourse and said,

“aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;

4 The oracle of him who ahears the 1words of God,

Who sees the bvision of 2the Almighty,

Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,

Your dwellings, O Israel!

6 “Like 1valleys that stretch out,

Like gardens beside the river,

Like aaloes planted by the Lord,

Like bcedars beside the waters.

7 “Water will flow from his buckets,

And his seed will be by many waters,

And his king shall be higher than aAgag,

bAnd his kingdom shall be exalted.

8 “aGod brings him out of Egypt,

He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.

bHe will devour the nations who are his adversaries,

And will crush their bones in pieces,

And shatter them with his carrows.

9 “aHe 1couches, he lies down as a lion,

And as a 2lion, who 3dares rouse him?

bBlessed is everyone who blesses you,

And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his 1hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

11 “Therefore, 1flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.”

12 Balaam said to Balak, “aDid I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying,

13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the 1command of the Lord, either good or bad, aof my own 2accord. bWhat the Lord speaks, that I will speak’?

14 “And now, behold, aI am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the 1days to come.”

15 He took up his discourse and said,

“aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

16 The oracle of him who hears the 1words of God,

And knows the knowledge of the 2Most High,

Who sees the vision of 3the Almighty,

Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.

17 “I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near;

A star shall come forth from Jacob,

aA scepter shall rise from Israel,

bAnd shall crush through the 1forehead of Moab,

And 2tear down all the sons of 3Sheth.

18 “aEdom shall be a possession,

bSeir, its enemies, also will be a possession,

While Israel performs valiantly.

19 “One from Jacob shall have dominion,

And will destroy the remnant from the city.”

20 And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first of the nations,

aBut his end shall be 1destruction.”

21 And he looked at the aKenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Your dwelling place is enduring,

And your nest is set in the cliff.

22 “Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;

How long will aAsshur 1keep you captive?”

23 Then he took up his discourse and said,

“Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?

24 “But ships shall come from the coast of aKittim,

And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict bEber;

cSo they also will come to destruction.”

25 Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to ahis place, and Balak also went his way.

Chapter 25

The Sin of Peor

1 While Israel remained at aShittim, the people began bto play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.

2 For athey invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

3 So aIsrael joined themselves to 1Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel.

4 The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them 1in broad daylight before the Lord, aso that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you aslay his men who have joined themselves to 1Baal of Peor.”

6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his 1relatives a aMidianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, bwhile they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

7 aWhen Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand,

8 and he went after the man of Israel into the 1tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the 2body. aSo the plague on the sons of Israel was checked.

9 aThose who died by the plague were 24,000.

The Zeal of Phinehas

10 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

11 “aPhinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel bin My jealousy.

12 “Therefore say, ‘aBehold, I give him My bcovenant of peace;

13 and it shall be for him and his 1descendants after him, a covenant of a aperpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and bmade atonement for the sons of Israel.’ ”

14 Now the name of the 1slain man of Israel who was 1slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites.

15 The name of the Midianite woman who was 1slain was aCozbi the daughter of bZur, 2who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

17 “aBe hostile to the Midianites and strike them;

18 for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of 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.”

Chapter 26

Census of a New Generation

1 1Then it came about after the aplague, 2that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying,

2 “aTake a 1census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel.”

3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ain the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

4 “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord has commanded Moses.”

Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

5 Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

7 These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were numbered of them were a43,730.

8 The son of Pallu: Eliab.

9 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were acalled by the congregation, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the Lord,

10 and athe earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, bwhen the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a 1warning.

11 aThe sons of Korah, however, did not die.

12 The sons of Simeon according to their families: of 1Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of 2Jachin, the family of the Jachinites;

13 of 1Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.

14 These are the families of the Simeonites, a22,200.

15 The sons of Gad according to their families: of 1Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites;

16 of 1Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites;

17 of 1Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites.

18 These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, a40,500.

19 The asons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

20 The asons of Judah according to their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.

21 The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites.

22 These are the families of Judah according to those who were numbered of them, a76,500.

23 The asons of Issachar according to their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of 1Puvah, the family of the Punites;

24 of 1Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.

25 These are the families of Issachar according to those who were numbered of them, a64,300.

26 The asons of Zebulun according to their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites.

27 These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those who were numbered of them, a60,500.

28 The asons of Joseph according to their families: Manasseh and Ephraim.

29 The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and aMachir 1became the father of Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites.

30 These are the sons of Gilead: of 1Iezer, the family of the aIezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites;

31 and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites;

32 and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.

33 Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but only daughters; and athe names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.

34 These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were a52,700.

35 These are the sons of Ephraim according to their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of 1Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites.

36 These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites.

37 These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those who were numbered of them, a32,500. These are the sons of Joseph according to their families.

38 The sons of Benjamin according to their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of 1Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites;

39 of 1Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of 2Hupham, the family of the Huphamites.

40 The sons of Bela were 1Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.

41 These are the sons of Benjamin according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were a45,600.

42 These are the sons of Dan according to their families: of 1Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan according to their families.

43 All the families of the Shuhamites, according to those who were numbered of them, were a64,400.

44 The asons of Asher according to their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites.

45 Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites.

46 The name of the daughter of Asher was Serah.

47 These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those who were numbered of them, a53,400.

48 The asons of Naphtali according to their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites;

49 of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of aShillem, the family of the Shillemites.

50 These are the families of Naphtali according to their families; and those who were numbered of them were a45,400.

51 These are those who were numbered of the sons of Israel, a601,730.

52 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

53 “1Among these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names.

54 “aTo the larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall diminish their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance according to those who were numbered of them.

55 “But the land shall be adivided by lot. They shall 1receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.

56 “According to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

57 aThese are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites.

58 These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korahites. aKohath 1became the father of Amram.

59 The name of Amram’s wife awas Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram: Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam.

60 aTo Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

61 aBut Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord.

62 Those who were numbered of them were a23,000, every male from a month old and upward, for bthey were not numbered among the sons of Israel csince no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

63 These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

64 aBut among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.

65 For the Lord had said 1of them, “aThey shall surely die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, bexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.