Numbers 24-26

New American Standard Bible

The Prophecy from Peor

24 When Balaam saw that it ^[a]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to ^[b]seek ^(A)omens, rather he turned his ^[c]attention toward the ^(B)wilderness. ²And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel ^[d]camping tribe by tribe; and ^(C)the Spirit of God came upon him. ³Then he took up his discourse and said,

“^(D)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;
⁴The declaration of him who ^(E)hears the ^[e]words of God,
Who sees the ^(F)vision of ^[f]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
⁵How pleasant are your tents, Jacob,
Your dwelling places, Israel!
⁶Like ^[g]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside a river,
Like ^(G)aloes planted by the Lord,
Like ^(H)cedars beside the waters.
⁷Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be higher than ^(I)Agag,
^(J)And his kingdom shall be exalted.
⁸^(K)God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
^(L)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will crush their bones,
And smash them with his ^(M)arrows.
⁹^(N)He ^[h]crouches, he lies down like a lion,
And like a lioness, who ^[i]dares to rouse him?
^(O)Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ^[j]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! ¹¹So ^[k]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹²And Balaam said to Balak, “^(P)Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, ¹³‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the ^[l]command of the Lord, either good or bad, ^(Q)of my own ^[m]accord. ^(R)What the Lord speaks, I will ^[n]speak’? ¹⁴So now, behold, ^(S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the ^[o]days to come.”

¹⁵Then he took up his discourse and said,

“^(T)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened,
¹⁶The declaration of him who hears the ^[p]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the ^[q]Most High,
Who sees the vision of ^[r]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered:
¹⁷I see him, but not now;
I look at him, but not near;
A star shall appear from Jacob,
^(U)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
^(V)And shall smash the ^[s]forehead of Moab,
And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
¹⁸^(W)And Edom shall be a possession,
^(X)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
¹⁹One from Jacob shall rule,
And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”

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

“Amalek was the first of the nations,
^(Y)But his end shall be ^[t]destruction.”

²¹And he looked at the ^(Z)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
²²Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation;
How long will ^(AA)Asshur ^[u]keep you captive?”

²³Then he took up his discourse and said,

“Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?
²⁴But ships shall come from the coast of ^(AB)Kittim,
And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress ^(AC)Eber;
^(AD)So they also will come to destruction.”

²⁵Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to ^(AE)his place, and Balak also went on his way.

The Sin of Peor

25 While Israel remained at ^(AF)Shittim, the people began ^(AG)to commit infidelity with the daughters of Moab. ²For ^(AH)they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³So ^(AI)Israel ^[v]became followers of ^[w]Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry with Israel. ⁴And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and ^[x]execute them ^[y]in broad daylight before the Lord, ^(AJ)so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you ^(AK)kill his men who have ^[z]become followers of ^[aa]Baal of Peor.”

⁶Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a ^(AL)Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ^(AM)while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁷^(AN)When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸and he went after the man of Israel into the inner room of the tent and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through the abdomen. ^(AO)So the plague on the sons of Israel was brought to a halt. ⁹^(AP)But those who died from the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹“^(AQ)Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has averted My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was ^[ab]jealous with My ^[ac]jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel ^(AR)in My ^[ad]jealousy. ¹²Therefore say, ‘^(AS)Behold, I am giving him My ^(AT)covenant of peace; ¹³and it shall be for him and for his ^[ae]descendants after him, a covenant of a ^(AU)permanent priesthood, because he was ^[af]jealous for his God and ^(AV)made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴Now the name of the ^[ag]dead man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was ^(AW)Cozbi the daughter of ^(AX)Zur, ^[ah]who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷“^(AY)Be hostile to the Midianites and attack them; ¹⁸for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Census of a New Generation

26 ^[ai]Then it came about after the ^(AZ)plague, ^[aj]that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ²“^(BA)Take a ^[ak]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go to war in Israel.” ³So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(BB)in 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 as follows:

⁵Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were counted of them were ^(BC)43,730. ⁸The son of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were ^(BD)called by the congregation, who fought against Moses and against Aaron in the group of Korah, when they fought against the Lord, ¹⁰and ^(BE)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that group died, ^(BF)when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a warning sign. ¹¹^(BG)The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹²The sons of Simeon by their families: of ^[al]Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of ^[am]Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³of ^[an]Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴These are the families of the Simeonites, ^(BH)22,200 in number.

¹⁵The sons of Gad by their families: of ^[ao]Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶of ^[ap]Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷of ^[aq]Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, ^(BI)40,500.

¹⁹The ^(BJ)sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰The ^(BK)sons of Judah by their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. ²¹The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²²These are the families of Judah by those who were numbered of them, ^(BL)76,500.

²³The ^(BM)sons of Issachar by their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of ^[ar]Puvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴of ^[as]Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵These are the families of Issachar by those who were numbered of them, ^(BN)64,300.

²⁶The ^(BO)sons of Zebulun by their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷These are the families of the Zebulunites by those who were numbered of them, ^(BP)60,500.

²⁸The ^(BQ)sons of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and ^(BR)Machir fathered Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰These are the sons of Gilead: of ^[at]Iezer, the family of the ^(BS)Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; ³¹and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³²and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters; and ^(BT)the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were ^(BU)52,700.

³⁵These are the sons of Ephraim by their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of ^[au]Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷These are the families of the sons of Ephraim by those who were numbered of them, ^(BV)32,500. These are the sons of Joseph by their families.

³⁸The sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of ^[av]Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹of ^[aw]Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of ^[ax]Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰The sons of Bela were ^[ay]Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹These are the sons of Benjamin by their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^(BW)45,600.

⁴²These are the sons of Dan by their families: of ^[az]Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan by their families. ⁴³All the families of the Shuhamites, by those who were numbered of them, were ^(BX)64,400.

⁴⁴The ^(BY)sons of Asher by their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷These are the families of the sons of Asher by those who were numbered of them, ^(BZ)53,400.

⁴⁸The ^(CA)sons of Naphtali by their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of ^(CB)Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰These are the families of Naphtali by their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^(CC)45,400.

⁵¹These are the ones who were numbered of the sons of Israel, ^(CD)601,730.

⁵²Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³“^[ba]Among these the land shall be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names. ⁵⁴^(CE)To a larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to a smaller group you shall decrease their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance corresponding to the total of those who were numbered of them. ⁵⁵But the land shall be ^(CF)divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. ⁵⁶Corresponding to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

⁵⁷^(CG)These 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. ⁵⁸These 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, and the family of the Korahites. ^(CH)Kohath fathered Amram. ⁵⁹And the name of Amram’s wife ^(CI)was 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^(CJ)And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹^(CK)But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered ^[bb]strange fire before the Lord. ⁶²Those who were numbered of them were ^(CL)twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward, for ^(CM)they were not numbered among the sons of Israel ^(CN)since no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³These are the ones 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^(CO)But 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. ⁶⁵For the Lord had said ^[bc]of them, “^(CP)They shall certainly die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, ^(CQ)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.