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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, where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and this is the message he delivered:

“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 sees a vision from the Almighty,
    who bows down with eyes wide open:
How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob;
    how lovely are your homes, O Israel!
They spread before me like palm groves,[a]
    like gardens by the riverside.
They are like tall trees planted by the Lord,
    like cedars beside the waters.
Water will flow from their buckets;
    their offspring have all they need.
Their king will be greater than Agag;
    their kingdom will be exalted.
God 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.
Like 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.”

10 King 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. 11 Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.”

12 Balaam 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! 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:

“This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,
    the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,
16 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:
17 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[b] of the people of Sheth.
18 Edom will be taken over,
    and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered,
    while Israel marches on in triumph.
19 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:

“Your home is secure;
    your nest is set in the rocks.
22 But the Kenites will be destroyed
    when Assyria[c] takes you captive.”

23 Balaam concluded his messages by saying:

“Alas, who can survive
    unless God has willed it?
24 Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus[d];
    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

25 While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove,[e] some of the men defiled themselves by having[f] sexual relations with local Moabite women. These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, so the Israelites feasted with them and worshiped the gods of Moab. In this way, Israel joined in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord’s anger to blaze against his people.

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.”

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.”

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.[g] When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. He took a spear 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, 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.[h]

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.”

Footnotes

  1. 24:6 Or like a majestic valley.
  2. 24:17 As in Samaritan Pentateuch; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain.
  3. 24:22 Hebrew Asshur; also in 24:24.
  4. 24:24 Hebrew Kittim.
  5. 25:1a Hebrew Shittim.
  6. 25:1b As in Greek version; Hebrew reads some of the men began having.
  7. 25:6 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.
  8. 25:13 Or he made atonement for the people of Israel.

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