Numbers 21-25

Numbers
Chapters 21-25

21[1-5] The Canaanite, the ruler of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. Israel made a promise to Yahweh, and said, “If You’ll in fact give us power over these people, then we’ll totally destroy their cities. Yahweh listened to the voice of Israel, and gave the Canaanites over to them; and they totally destroyed them and their cities, so the name of the place was called Hormah. They left from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom: and the people were very discouraged because of the way. The people spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the countryside? There’s no food and water; and we hate this worthless bread.”
[6-9] So Yahweh sent snakes whose bite burned like fire among the people. They bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Then the people came to Moses, and said, “We’ve sinned, because we’ve spoken against Yahweh and you; Ask Yahweh to take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake, and set it on a pole: and when someone is bitten, and looks up at it, they’ll live. So Moses made a snake of brass, and set it on the pole: and when a snake had bitten someone, and they looked up at the snake of brass, they lived.
[10-15] Then the people of Israel moved on, and lived in Oboth. They left from Oboth, and lived at the ruins of Abarim, in the countryside which is near Moab, toward the east. From there they moved on, and lived in the valley of Zered. From there they moved on, and lived on the other side of the Arnon river, which is in the countryside, that comes out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. So it’s said in the Book of Wars of Yahweh, “What God did in the Red Sea, and in the valleys of the Arnon, the slope of the valleys that goes down to the home of Ar, and is on the border of Moab.”
[16-20] From there they moved on to Beer: that’s the well where Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I’ll give them water. Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, well; sing a song to the well, which the leaders dug, which the leaders of the people dug, with the walking stick of the lawgiver, and all their walking sticks.” From the countryside they moved on to Mattanah; and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; and from Bamoth to the valley that’s in the field of Moab, to the top of mount Pisgah, which looks down on the desert.
[21-30] Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon ruler of the Amorites, saying, “Let us pass through your land: we won’t go into fields, or into vineyards; we won’t drink of the water of the wells: we’ll go by the ruler's highway, until we’ve passed your border. But Sihon wouldn’t allow Israel to cross their border and gathered all their people together, and went out against Israel into the countryside, and came to Jahaz; and fought against Israel. So Israel killed them in the war, and took their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, all the way to the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was strong. Israel took all these cities: and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its towns. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the ruler of the Amorites, who had fought against the former ruler of Moab, and taken all their land, all the way to the Arnon. So those who speak in old sayings say, “Come to Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be built and set up; for a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has burned up Ar of Moab, the preists of the high places of the Arnon. Sorrow will come to you, Moab! You’re lost, people of Chemosh! Your sons have run away, and your daughters are prisoners of Sihon ruler of the Amorites. We’ve shot at them. Heshbon has been destroyed all the way to Dibon. We’ve destroyed everything to Nophah, which reaches all the way to Medeba.”
[31-35] So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. Then Moses sent spies out to Jazer; and they took the towns of it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. They turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og, the ruler of Bashan, went out against them with all his people, to fight at Edrei. Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Don't fear them. I’ve put all their people and their land in your power. Do to them as you did to Sihon ruler of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon. So they fought all their people, until there was no one left alive: and they took their land.
22[1-6] The people of Israel moved on, and lived in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were so many: and Moab was worried because of the people of Israel. Moab said to the leaders of Midian, “Now this great people will lick up all that’s around us, as a bull licks up the grass of the field. Balak the son of Zippor was ruler of Moab at that time. He sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river, to the land of his people, to call them, saying, “See, there’s a people that has come out from Egypt and they cover the whole face of the earth, and they stay next to Me. Please come now and curse these people for me; for they’re too strong for me: then I’ll be strong enough to overcome them, that we may hurt them, and drive them out of the land; for I know that whoever you speak well of is blessed, and whoever you speak badly of is punished.
[7-12] The leaders of Moab and Midian went with the payment for the curse in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and told him what Balak had said. He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I’ll tell you what Yahweh tells Me.” So the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. God came to Balaam, and said, “Who are these men with you?” So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, ruler of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ‘See, the people that’s come out of Egypt covers the whole face of the earth: now, come curse them for me; so I’ll be able to fight them, and drive them out.’” So God said to Balaam, “Don’t go with them or curse the people because they’re blessed.”
[13-19] So Balaam got up in the morning, and said to the leaders of Balak, “Go back to your land; for Yahweh won’t let me go with you.” So the leaders of Moab got up, and they went to Balak, and said, “Balaam wouldn’t come with us.” Then Balak sent more leaders, who were more honorable than the first ones. They came to Balaam, and said to him, “Balak the son of Zippor says, “Please don’t let anything keep you from coming to Me: for I’ll give you very great honor, and whatever you say to me I’ll do it. Please come and curse these people for Me.” So Balaam answered the servants of Balak, “If Balak gave me his whole house full of silver and gold, I can't do anything more than what Yahweh my God tells me to do, neither less nor more. Now, please stay here tonight, till I know what else Yahweh tells me.
[20-24] God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, “If they come to call you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you to do.” So Balaam got up in the morning, and saddled a donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab. Then God's was angry because he went; and the angel of Yahweh stood in the way as an enemy against him. Now he was riding on the donkey, and two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way, holding a drawn sword; and the donkey turned out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam hit the donkey, to turn her back into the way. Then the angel of Yahweh stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, a wall being on both sides.
[25-30] The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and she threw herself to the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he hit her again. Then the angel of Yahweh went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn, either right or left. The donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, and she lay down under Balaam: and Balaam's was very angry, so he hit the donkey with his walking stick. Then Yahweh made the donkey speak, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you hit me these three times?” Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me, and I wish there were a sword in my hand and I had killed you.” Then the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden since I was yours until now? Have I ever had the habit of doing so to you?” and he said, “No.”
[31-35] Then Yahweh made Balaam see the angel of Yahweh standing in the way, holding a drawn sword; and he bowed his head, and fell to the ground. Then the angel of Yahweh asked him, “Why have you hit your donkey these three times? See, I have come here to stand in your way, because you have gone ahead before Me: and the donkey saw Me, and turned away from Me these three times: unless she had turned away from Me, I would have killed you by now, and saved her alive. So Balaam said to the angel of Yahweh, “I’ve sinned; for I didn't know that you stood in the way against Me: so now, if it displeases you, I’ll go back again. Then the angel of Yahweh said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but you will only say what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the leaders of Balak.
[36-41] When Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet them at the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the edge of the border. Balak said to Balaam, “Didn't I send to you to call you? Why didn't you come to Me? Am I not in fact able to give you great honor?” So Balaam said to Balak, “See, I’ve come to you: but I don’t have any power at all to say anything. I can only say whatever words God gives me.” Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth. Balak sacrificed bulls and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the leaders who were with them. So in the morning, Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal so he could see the whole people from there.
23[1-6] Balaam said to Balak, “Build me here seven altars, and fix seven bulls and seven male goats.” Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a male goat. Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I’ll go, and maybe Yahweh will come to meet me; and whatever God shows me I’ll tell you.” So he went up to an opening on the mountain and God met Balaam there. Balaam said to God, “I’ve made seven altars, and I’ve offered up a bull and a male goat on every altar.” Then Yahweh told Balaam what to say, and said, “Go back to Balak, and say this. So he went back to him and saw that he and all the leaders of Moab were standing by the burnt offering.
[7-10] In the words that God had given, he said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the ruler of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, Come, punish Israel. How can I curse, whom God hasn’t cursed? How can I punish, whom Yahweh hasn’t punished? From the top of the rocks I see them, and from the hills I see them: See, it’s a people that lives alone, and won’t be counted among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, or even count a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of a good person! Let my descendants be like theirs!”
[11-15] Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, and you’ve blessed them altogether.” So he answered, “Must I not be careful to say what Yahweh tells me to say?” So Balak said, “Please come with me to another place, where you may see them; but see only the edge of them, and won’t see them all: and curse them from there for me.” So he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a male goat on every altar. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet Yahweh over there.”
[16-24] Yahweh met Balaam, and told him what to say, and then said, Go back to Balak, and say this. So he went back to him, and he and the leaders of Moab were standing by the burnt offering. Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh said?” So using the words of God, he said, “Get up, Balak, and hear! Listen to Me, you son of Zippor. God isn’t a human, who would lie, nor born of a human, who would have a change of mind. Has God said anything, and not done it? Or has God spoken, and not made it good? See, I’ve been told to bless. God has blessed, and I can't go against it. God hasn’t seen fault in Jacob, nor seen trouble in Israel. Yahweh their God is with them. The shout of a ruler is among them. God brings them out of Egypt, who has the strength of a wild bull. There’s no spell that can come against Jacob, nor is there any witchcraft that can be used against Israel. Now it’ll be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What has God done! See, the people get up like a young lion, and as a lion they lift themselves up and won’t lie down until they eat and drink the blood of their kill.’”
[25-30] Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.” But Balaam answered Balak, “Didn't I tell you, I must do all that Yahweh says?” So Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I’ll take you to another place; and maybe it’ll please God that you may curse them for me from there. Then Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down on the desert. Balaam said to Balak, “Build me here seven altars, and fix seven bulls and seven male goats. So Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a male goat on every altar.
24[1-9] When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn't go, as at the other times, to meet them with spells, but went toward the countryside. Balaam looked and saw Israel living by their families; and the Spirit of God came on him. He used the words of God and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the one who sees says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Ruler of All, falling under God’s power, and having his eyes opened: How good are your tents, Jacob, and your homes, Israel! As valleys they’re spread out like gardens by the river, like aloe plants which Yahweh has planted, like cedar trees beside the creek. Water will flow from their buckets and their children will live beside many waters. Their ruler will be higher than Agag, whose kingdom will be very great. God brings them out of Egypt. Israel has the strength of the wild bull and will eat up the nations who are its enemies, and will break their bones in pieces, and stab them with their horns. Israel rests, and lays down like a lion, like a young lion; who will wake him up? Everyone who speaks well of you is blessed. Everyone who speaks badly of you will be punished.”
[10-14] Balak's was very angry with Balaam, and clapped his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and, look, you have altogether blessed them these three times. So now go back to where you came from: I thought to give you great honor; but Yahweh has kept you from it.” Balaam said to Balak, “Didn't I also tell the messengers you sent to me, ‘If you gave me your whole house full of silver and gold, I can't do anything more than what Yahweh tells me to do either good or bad of my own mind; what Yahweh says, is what I say?’ See, I go to my people, but come, and I’ll tell you what these people will do to your people in the future.”
[15-19] He used the words of God, and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the one who sees says, who hears the words of God, who knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who sees the vision of the Ruler of All, falling under God’s power, and having his eyes opened: I see the Christ, but not now. I see the Christ, but not near. A rising Star will come out of Jacob. A Ruler will come out of Israel, and will go through the edges of Moab (Jordan), and will break all the people of Seth. Edom (Idumea) will be owned. Seir (Judah), once enemies, will also be owned, while Israel will be strengthened. This One will rule out of Jacob and will destroy anyone left of the city.”
[20-25] He looked at Amalek, and used the words of God, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, but in the end they’ll be destroyed forever.” He looked at the Kenite, and used the words of God, and said, “Where you live is strong. You put your nest in the rock. But Kain (Palestine) will be ruined until Asshur (Assyria) takes control of it.” He used the words of God, and said, “But who will live when God does all this? Ships will come from the coasts of the Kittim (Cyprus, Mediterranean area of Greece, Rome). They’ll put down Assyria, and the Hebrews (Heber, Eber), and will also be destroyed.” Then Balaam got up, and went back home; and Balak also went back home.
25[1-4] Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to be unfaithful with the daughters of Moab. They called the people to the sacrifices of their false gods; and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods. Israel joined up with Baal Peor (the lord of the gap): and Yahweh was very angry with Israel. Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people, and hang them before Yahweh in the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.”
[5-9] Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Kill everyone of your people who have joined with Baal Peor.” Then one of the people of Israel came and brought to their people a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the people of Israel, while they were crying at the door of the Meeting Place. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up from the middle of the people, and took a spear in his hand; and went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust him through, both the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the trouble stopped from the people of Israel. Those that died by that trouble were 24,000 people.
[10-13] Yahweh told Moses, “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My great anger away from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I didn't destroy all the people of Israel in My jealousy. So say to him, ‘I give you My promise of peace: and it’ll be to you, and to your children after you, the promise of the priesthood forever; because you were jealous for your God, and covered the sins of the people of Israel.’”
[14-18] Now the name of the man of Israel that was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a leader of a large family group among the Simeonites. The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur, who was a leader of a large family group in Midian. Yahweh told Moses, “Trouble the Midianites, and kill them; for they trouble you with their temptations, with which they’ve been untrue with you in the matter of Peor and Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the trouble in the matter of Peor.