Numbers 21-23
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 21
Israel Destroys Arad. 1 When the Canaanite king Arad (who lived in the Negeb) heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the people of Israel and took some of them prisoner. 2 [a]Israel made a vow to the Lord saying, “If you will deliver this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their cities!” 3 The Lord listened to the plea of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites. They totally destroyed them and their cities, therefore the place is called Hormah.
The Bronze Serpent.[b] 4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea in order to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became discouraged along the way. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to have us die in the desert. There is no bread, no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”[c]
6 The Lord sent seraph[d] serpents among the people. They bit the people, and many of the people of Israel died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord so that he might save us from the serpents.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a seraph serpent and put it upon a pole. Whoever has been bitten and looks upon it will live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it upon a pole. If someone had been bitten by a serpent and he looked up at the bronze serpent, he lived.
10 The Move to Moab. The people of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth. 11 They left Oboth and camped in Iye-abarim in the desert that lie to the east of Moab. 12 From there they moved on and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 They then moved on from there and camped on the other side of the Arnon in the desert that extends from the boundary of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary of Moab, the border between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Thus, it is written in the Book of Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah,
and the wadis of the Arnon,
15 and the slope of the wadis
that extend to the site of Ar,
that lies along the boundary of Moab.”
16 From there they continued on to Beer, which is where the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Gather up the people and I will give them water.”
17 Then Israel sang this song,
“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!
18 The well which the leaders dug,
which the nobles of the people sank,
with the scepter and with their staves.”
From the desert they continued on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley in the land of Moab which is on the heights of the Pisgah overlooking the wasteland.
21 Victory over Sihon and Og.[e] Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let us pass through your land. We will not wander into the fields nor into the vineyards. We will not drink water from any well. We will pass along the King’s Highway until we have crossed over your borders.”
23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to cross over his border. Sihon gathered all of his people and marched out into the desert against Israel. He went out to Jahaz and fought with Israel.
24 But Israel put him to the sword and occupied his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok up to the Ammonite territory (for the boundary with the Ammonites was fortified). 25 Israel captured all of these cities, and Israel settled in all of the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all of its surrounding villages. 26 Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, for he had fought with the former king of Moab, conquering all of his lands up to the Arnon. 27 [f]This is why those who speak in proverbs say,
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built.
Let Sihon’s city be restored.
28 For fire went out from Heshbon,
a flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
the lords of the heights of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, Moab.
You have perished, O people of Chemosh.[g]
He has given up his sons as fugitives,
his daughters as captives to Sihon,
the king of the Amorites.
30 But we have shot at them,
Heshbon has perished even as far as Dibon.
We have laid them waste up to Nophah,
which extends to the Medeba.”
31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. 32 Moses sent out spies to Jazer, and they captured those villages, driving out the Amorites who lived there. 33 They then turned and went along the road to Bashan.[h] Og, the king of Bashan, went out with all his people to battle them in Edrei.
34 The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him and all his people and land into your hands. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon.” 35 So they killed him and his sons and all of his people until there was not a single one alive, and they conquered his land.
Chapter 22[i]
1 [j]Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.
Balak Summons Balaam. 2 Now Balak, the son of Zippor, had seen everything that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people, and Moab was filled with dread of the people of Israel. 4 Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will lick up everything around us just like an ox licks up grass in the pasture.”
Balak, the son of Zippor, was the king of the Moabites at this time. 5 He sent messengers to Pethor which is near the river[k] in his native land, to Balaam, the son of Beor, to summon him. He said, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the earth. They are now living opposite me. 6 Please come now and curse this people for me for they are too powerful for me. Maybe then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. I know well that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”
7 The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left, carrying the fee for the divination in their hands. They came to Balaam, and they told him what Balak had said. 8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring you the answer the Lord gives me.” So the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, sent for me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt who now covers the face of the earth. Now come and curse them for me. Perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them away.’ ” 12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Do not curse the people, for they are blessed.”[l]
13 The next morning Balaam arose and said to Balak’s representatives, “Go back to your country, for the Lord refuses to allow me to go with you.”
14 The leaders of Moab returned and said to Balak, “Balaam refused to come with us.” 15 So Balak sent some more leaders, even more distinguished than the others. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak, the son of Zippor: ‘Please, let nothing keep you from coming to me 17 for I will honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you ask of me. Please come and curse this people.’ ” 18 Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak: “If Balak were to grant me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, small or great, contrary to the word of the Lord, my God. 19 But now, please stay here this night as well, so that I may know what the Lord says to me.” 20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If these men have come to summon you, rise up and go with them, but do only what I tell you.”
21 Balaam’s Donkey. Balaam arose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab. 22 But God grew very angry because he had gone, and so an angel of the Lord blocked his path on the roadway. He was riding on a donkey and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord[m] standing in the roadway with his drawn sword in his hand, and the donkey left the roadway and wandered into the field. Balaam beat the donkey to force it back onto the roadway.
24 Then an angel of the Lord stood in the narrow pathway in the vineyards, walls standing on either side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed so close to the wall that it crushed Balaam’s foot against it, so he beat it again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place that had no room to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam who became angry and beat it with a staff.
28 The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me. If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have always ridden, even til today? Have I ever done this to you before?” He said, “No.” 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. He bowed down and fell flat on his face. 32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you for the path before you is wrong. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. Otherwise, I would surely have killed you, but it I would have spared.”
34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize that you were standing there opposing my way. If I have displeased you, then I will go back.” 35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the leaders to Balak.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to Moab to meet him, a city which is on the Arnon border, at the farthest edge of his territory. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not summon you urgently? Why have you not come to me? Am I not able to reward you?” 38 Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you now. Do I have any power to say anything? I will only speak the word that God puts in my mouth.”
39 Balaam went with Balak, and they arrived in Kiriath-huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some of its meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him. 41 The next day Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal so that he might see the outposts of the people.
Chapter 23
Balaam’s First Oracle.[n] 1 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven oxen and seven rams for me.” 2 Balak did what Balaam had told him to do. Then Balak and Balaam offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your offerings, and I will go off a bit. Perhaps the Lord will come to visit me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” He then went off to a high place.
4 God visited Balaam. He said, “I have prepared seven altars and I have offered a young bull and a ram upon each altar.” 5 The Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and proclaim this.”
6 So he returned to him and found him standing by his sacrifice, he and the leaders of Moab. 7 Then he proclaimed his oracle:
“Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains saying,
‘Come, and curse Jacob,
come and denounce Israel!’
8 How shall I curse those whom God has not cursed,
how shall I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?[o]
9 From the top of the rocks I see him,
from the hills I behold him.
Behold, a people dwelling alone,
not counted among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
let my end be like his.”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have bountifully blessed them.” 12 But he answered, “Must I not proclaim what the Lord has put into my mouth?”
13 Balaam’s Second Oracle. Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place. There you will be able to see them, but only their outposts; you will not see all of them. You can curse them for me from there.”
14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and he offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. 15 He said to Balak, “Stand here by your offering, and I will meet the Lord over there.” 16 The Lord visited Balaam and put a word in his mouth saying, “Go back again to Balak and proclaim this.”
17 He returned to him. He was standing by his offering, he and the leaders of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?” 18 He took up his oracle and said,
“Arise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 God is not human, that he should lie,[p]
or the son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act,
does he promise and then not fulfill it?
20 Behold, I have received a blessing;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
21 No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery is seen in Israel.
The Lord, their God, is with them;
the shout of a king is among them.
22 God has brought them out of Egypt;
they are as strong as a wild ox.
23 There is truly no sorcery against Jacob,
nor any divination against Israel.
Now it will be said of Jacob and Israel,
‘What God has done!’
24 Behold, a people rises up like a lioness,
like a young lion it lifts itself up.
It will not lie down again until it eats the prey
and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Then do not either curse them in any way or bless them in any way!” 26 But Balaam answered Balak saying, “Did I not tell you: ‘All that the Lord says I must do!’ ”
27 Balaam’s Third Oracle. Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place. Perhaps God will allow you to curse them for me here.” 28 Then Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, to a place that faced Jeshimon. 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me.” 30 Balak did what Balaam had told him to do, and he offered a young bull and a ram on each of the altars.
Footnotes
- Numbers 21:2 Hormah means “dedicated to destruction.” The entire booty taken in war is destroyed as an act of homage to God. See Num 18:14; Jos 6:7.
- Numbers 21:4 The bronze serpent, a sign of repentance and forgiveness, will be used by Jesus as a prefiguration of his own being lifted up on the cross (Jn 3:14).
- Numbers 21:5 We loathe this miserable food: this statement showed more than a distaste for the manna that the Lord had provided and that had been the brunt of ongoing complaints by the people. While they were rejecting the Lord’s physical nourishment, they were turning away from his gift of grace.
- Numbers 21:6 Seraph: the Hebrew for a type of poisonous viper. The etymology suggests “fiery one,” “burning one.”
- Numbers 21:21 God fights alongside his people; nothing can resist him. These incidents will remain as exemplars for Israel and will be repeatedly extolled in national songs (see Pss 135:11; 136:10-20).
- Numbers 21:27 An ancient Amorite song of victory, taken over by the Israelites.
- Numbers 21:29 Chemosh is the god of the Moabites. See Jdg 11:24; 1 Ki 11:7.
- Numbers 21:33 Bashan: a region on the border between present day Syria and Jordan. Og: a legendary giant; see Deut 3:11.
- Numbers 22:1 Arms were unable to halt the progress of the people of God. Balak, king of Moab, seeks to mobilize magical powers against them. In order to bring down a curse upon Israel, he calls upon the famous Balaam, a man of upright conscience who acts in good faith; but the soothsayer can only submit to God, who is more powerful than any sorcery.
- Numbers 22:1 The account vividly describes negotiations and an agreement on the practice known as incubation, which consisted in consulting the divinity through dreams. For the biblical editor there is only one God; it must therefore be none other than he who responds to the consulting soothsayer.
- Numbers 22:5 The river is the Euphrates.
- Numbers 22:12 They are blessed: the people of Israel were under God’s protection as promised to Abraham (see Gen 12:2-3) their Father.
- Numbers 22:23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord: Balaam’s magical powers did not go as far as his dumb beast’s sensitivity in recognizing the messenger of the Lord.
- Numbers 23:1 The story of Balaam is told here chiefly in order to bring in the oracles of blessing. What is reported here is certainly very ancient traditions, comparable to the blessings of Jacob (Gen 49) and of Moses (Deut 33).
- Numbers 23:8 Balaam cannot do what Balak asks of him because God is protecting his people. None of Balaam’s tricks can negate God’s blessing on them.
- Numbers 23:19 God is not human, that he should lie: Balaam’s lack of integrity and honesty are far removed from the steadfast mercy and goodness of God.
