Numbers 23-25 (Contemporary English Version)

Numbers 23

Balaam's First Message

 ¹Balaam said to Balak, " Build seven altars here, then bring seven bulls and seven rams."

    ²After Balak had done this, they sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar. ³Then Balaam said, " Wait here beside your offerings, and I'll go somewhere to be alone. Maybe the LORD will appear to me. If he does, I will tell you everything he says." And he left.

    ⁴When God appeared to him, Balaam said, " I have built seven altars and have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one."

    ⁵The LORD gave Balaam a message, then sent him back to tell Balak. ⁶When Balaam returned, he found Balak and his officials standing beside the offerings.

    ⁷Balaam said:

   " King Balak of Moab brought me

   from the hills of Syria

   to curse Israel

   and announce its doom.

    ⁸But I can't go against God!

   He did not curse

   or condemn Israel.

    ⁹" From the mountain peaks,

   I look down and see Israel,

   the obedient people of God.

    ¹⁰They are living alone in peace.

   And though they are many,

   they don't bother

   the other nations.

   " I hope to obey God

   for as long as I live

   and to die in such peace."

    ¹¹Balak said, " What are you doing? I asked you to come and place a curse on my enemies. But you have blessed them instead!"

    ¹²Balaam answered, " I can say only what the LORD tells me."

   

Balaam's Second Message

 ¹³Balak said to Balaam, " Let's go somewhere else. Maybe if you see a smaller part of the Israelites, you will be able to curse them for me." ¹⁴So he took Balaam to a field on top of Mount Pisgah where lookouts were stationed. ^[a] Then he built seven altars there and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one. ¹⁵" Wait here beside your offerings," Balaam said. " The LORD will appear to me over there."

    ¹⁶The LORD appeared to Balaam and gave him another message, then he told him to go and tell Balak. ¹⁷Balaam went back and saw him and his officials standing beside the offerings.

   Balak asked, " What did the LORD say?"

    ¹⁸Balaam answered:

   " Pay close attention

   to my words--

    ¹⁹God is no mere human!

   He doesn't tell lies

   or change his mind.

   God always keeps his promises.

    ²⁰" My command from God

   was to bless these people,

   and there's nothing I can do

   to change what he has done.

    ²¹Israel's king is the LORD God.

   He lives there with them

   and intends them no harm.

    ²²With the strength of a wild ox,

   God led Israel out of Egypt.

    ²³No magic charms can work

   against them--

   just look what God has done

   for his people.

    ²⁴They are like angry lions

   ready to attack;

   and they won't rest

   until their victim

   is gobbled down."

    ²⁵Balak shouted, " If you're not going to curse Israel, then at least don't bless them."

    ²⁶" I've already told you," Balaam answered. " I will say only what the LORD tells me."

   

Balaam's Third Message

 ²⁷Balak said to Balaam, " Come on, let's try another place. Maybe God will let you curse Israel from there." ²⁸So he took Balaam to Mount Peor overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.

    ²⁹Balaam said, " Build seven altars here, then bring me seven bulls and seven rams."

    ³⁰After Balak had done what Balaam asked, he sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.

   

Numbers 24

 ¹Balaam was sure that the LORD would tell him to bless Israel again. So he did not use any magic to find out what the LORD wanted him to do, as he had the first two times. Instead, he looked out toward the desert ²and saw the tribes of Israel camped below. Just then, God's Spirit took control of him, ³and Balaam said:

   " I am the son of Beor,

   and my words are true, ^[b] so listen to my message!

    ⁴It comes from the LORD,

   the God All-Powerful.

   I bowed down to him

   and saw a vision of Israel.

    ⁵" People of Israel,

   your camp is lovely.

    ⁶It's like a grove of palm trees ^[c] or a garden beside a river.

   You are like tall aloe trees

   that the LORD has planted,

   or like cedars

   growing near water.

    ⁷You and your descendants

   will prosper

   like an orchard

   beside a stream.

   Your king will rule with power

   and be a greater king

   than Agag the Amalekite. ^{[d] 8}With the strength of a wild ox,

   God led you out of Egypt.

   You will defeat your enemies,

   shooting them with arrows ^[e] and crushing their bones.

    ⁹Like a lion you lie down,

   resting after an attack.

   Who would dare disturb you?

   " Anyone who blesses you

   will be blessed;

   anyone who curses you

   will be cursed."

    ¹⁰When Balak heard this, he was so furious that he pounded his fist against his hand and said, " I called you here to place a curse on my enemies, and you've blessed them three times. ¹¹Leave now and go home! I told you I would pay you well, but since the LORD didn't let you do what I asked, you won't be paid."

    ¹²Balaam answered, " I told your messengers ¹³that even if you offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I would still obey the LORD. And I explained that I would say only what he told me. ¹⁴So I'm going back home, but I'm leaving you with a warning about what the Israelites will someday do to your nation."

   

Balaam's Fourth Message

 ¹⁵Balaam said:

   " I am the son of Beor,

   and my words are true, ^[f] so listen to my message!

    ¹⁶My knowledge comes

   from God Most High,

   the LORD All-Powerful.

   I bowed down to him

   and saw a vision of Israel.

    ¹⁷" What I saw in my vision

   hasn't happened yet.

   But someday, a king of Israel

   will appear like a star.

   He will wipe out you Moabites ^[g] and destroy ^[h] those tribes who live in the desert. ^{[i] 18}Israel will conquer Edom

   and capture the land

   of that enemy nation.

    ¹⁹The king of Israel will rule

   and destroy the survivors

   of every town there. ^{[j] 20}" And I saw this vision

   about the Amalekites: ^[k] Their nation is now great,

   but it will someday

   disappear forever. ^{[l] 21}" And this is what I saw

   about the Kenites: ^[m] They think they're safe,

   living among the rocks,

    ²²but they will be wiped out

   when Assyria conquers them. ^{[n] 23}" No one can survive

   if God plans destruction. ^{[o] 24}Ships will come from Cyprus,

   bringing people

   who will invade

   the lands of Assyria and Eber.

   But finally, Cyprus itself

   will be ruined."

    ²⁵After Balaam finished, he started home, and Balak also left.

   

Numbers 25

The Israelites Worship Baal

 ¹While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men had sex with Moabite women. ²These women then invited the men to ceremonies where sacrifices were offered to their gods. The men ate the meat from the sacrifices and worshiped the Moabite gods.

    ³The LORD was angry with Israel because they had worshiped the god Baal Peor. ⁴So he said to Moses, " Take the Israelite leaders who are responsible for this and have them killed in front of my sacred tent where everyone can see. Maybe then I will stop being angry with the Israelites."

    ⁵Moses told Israel's officials, ^[p] " Each of you must put to death any of your men who worshiped Baal." ⁶Later, Moses and the people were at the sacred tent, crying, when one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite ^[q] woman to meet his family. ⁷Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron ^[r] the priest, saw the couple and left the crowd. He found a spear ⁸and followed the man into his tent, where he ran the spear through the man and into the woman's stomach. The LORD immediately stopped punishing Israel with a deadly disease, ⁹but twenty-four thousand Israelites had already died. ¹⁰The LORD said to Moses, ¹¹" In my anger, I would have wiped out the Israelites if Phinehas had not been faithful to me. ^12-13But instead of punishing them, I forgave them. So because of the loyalty that Phinehas showed, I solemnly promise that he and his descendants will always be my priests."

    ¹⁴The Israelite man that was killed was Zimri son of Salu, who was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe. ¹⁵And the Midianite woman killed with him was Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite clan leader named Zur.

    ¹⁶The LORD told Moses, ^17-18" The Midianites are now enemies of Israel, so attack and defeat them! They tricked the people of Israel into worshiping their god at Peor, and they are responsible for the death of Cozbi, the daughter of one of their own leaders."