BalakBalak

1Reading 1 Numbers 22:2–12Chapter page with footnotes →

^22:2And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorite. ³And Moab was greatly afraid from before the people, because they were many; and Moab dreaded from before the children of Israel. ⁴And Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this assembly will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the green of the field." And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. ⁵And he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, "Behold, a people has come out from Egypt; behold, it has covered the eye of the land, and it is dwelling opposite me. ⁶And now, come, please, curse for me this people, for it is mightier than I; perhaps I will be able to strike it, and I will drive it out from the land; for I know that whom you bless is blessed, and whom you curse is cursed."

⁷And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went, with divinations in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.

⁸And he said to them, "Lodge here this night, and I will bring back to you a word, just as the LORD may speak to me." And the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁹And God came to Balaam, and said, "Who are these men with you?"

¹⁰And Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me: ¹¹'Behold, the people that is coming out from Egypt, and it has covered the eye of the land; now, come, curse it for me; perhaps I will be able to fight against it, and I will drive it out.'"

¹²And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for it is blessed."

2Reading 2 Numbers 22:13–20Chapter page with footnotes →

^22:13And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, "Go to your land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you."

¹⁴And the princes of Moab rose up, and they came to Balak, and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

¹⁵And Balak again sent princes, more, and more honored than these. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam, and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: Let nothing, please, hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷for I will greatly honor you indeed, and all that you say to me I will do; so come, please, curse for me this people."

¹⁸And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "If Balak would give me the fullness of his house of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the mouth of the LORD my God, to do small or great. ¹⁹And now, please stay here, you also, this night, that I may know what the LORD will speak with me more."

²⁰And God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall do."

3Reading 3 Numbers 22:21–38Chapter page with footnotes →

^22:21And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his she-donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam’s Donkey

²²And the anger of God was kindled because he was going; and the messenger of the LORD stationed himself in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his she-donkey, and his two young men were with him.

²³And the she-donkey saw the messenger of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the she-donkey turned aside out of the way, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the she-donkey, to turn her into the way.

²⁴And the messenger of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, a fence on this side, and a fence on that side. ²⁵And the she-donkey saw the messenger of the LORD, and she pressed herself against the wall, and crushed the foot of Balaam against the wall; and he struck her again.

²⁶And the messenger of the LORD went on further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷And the she-donkey saw the messenger of the LORD, and she lay down under Balaam; and the anger of Balaam was kindled, and he struck the she-donkey with the staff.

²⁸And the LORD opened the mouth of the she-donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?"

²⁹And Balaam said to the she-donkey, "Because you have mocked me; if only there were a sword in my hand, for now I would have killed you."

³⁰And the she-donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your she-donkey, upon which you have ridden from your beginning until this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, "No."

³¹And the LORD uncovered the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the messenger of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and prostrated himself on his face.

³²And the messenger of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your she-donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because the way is contrary before me. ³³And the she-donkey saw me, and turned aside before me these three times; if she had not turned aside from before me, surely now I would even have killed you, and let her live."

³⁴And Balaam said to the messenger of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing to meet me in the way; and now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will return for myself."

³⁵And the messenger of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men; but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak." And Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶And Balak heard that Balaam had come, and he went out to meet him to the city of Moab, which is on the border of Arnon, which is at the edge of the border. ³⁷And Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not earnestly send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I truly not able to honor you?"

³⁸And Balaam said to Balak, "Behold, I have come to you; now, am I able at all to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I will speak."

4Reading 4 Numbers 22:39–23:12Chapter page with footnotes →

^22:39And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him.

⁴¹And it came to pass in the morning that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and he saw from there the edge of the people.

Balaam’s First Oracle

^23:1And Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams."

²And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

³And Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and the word of whatever He shows me I will tell you." And he went to a bare height. ⁴And God met Balaam; and he said to Him, "I have arranged the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar."

⁵And the LORD put a word in the mouth of Balaam, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."

⁶And he returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

⁷And he took up his parable, and said: "From Aram Balak leads me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east: Come, curse for me Jacob, and come, denounce Israel.

⁸How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: behold, a people dwelling alone, and among the nations it does not reckon itself.

¹⁰Who has counted the dust of Jacob, or the number of a fourth of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!"

¹¹And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have utterly blessed them."

¹²And he answered and said, "Must I not take care to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?"

5Reading 5 Numbers 23:13–26Chapter page with footnotes →

Balaam’s Second Oracle

^23:13And Balak said to him, "Come, please, with me to another place, from where you will see them; you will see only the edge of them, and you will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there."

¹⁴And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵And he said to Balak, "Station yourself here by your burnt offering, while I meet yonder."

¹⁶And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."

¹⁷And he came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?"

¹⁸And he took up his parable, and said: "Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, son of Zippor:

¹⁹God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?

²⁰Behold, I have received to bless; and He has blessed, and I cannot turn it back.

²¹He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen trouble in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is in him.

²²God who brings them out from Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild ox.

²³For there is no enchantment in Jacob, nor divination in Israel; at the time it shall be said to Jacob and to Israel: What has God wrought!

²⁴Behold, a people that rises up like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion; it will not lie down until it eats prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.

²⁵And Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all."

²⁶And Balaam answered and said to Balak, "Did I not speak to you, saying: All that the LORD speaks, that I must do?"

6Reading 6 Numbers 23:27–24:13Chapter page with footnotes →

^23:27And Balak said to Balaam, "Come, please, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be right in the eyes of God that you curse them for me from there."

²⁸And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down upon the face of the wasteland.

²⁹And Balaam said to Balak, "Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams."

³⁰And Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam’s Third Oracle

^24:1And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of the LORD to bless Israel, and he did not go, as time after time, to meet enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. ³And he took up his parable, and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eye is opened;

⁴the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of Shaddai, falling down, yet with eyes uncovered:

⁵How good are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel!

⁶Like valleys they are stretched out, like gardens by a river, like aloes the LORD has planted, like cedars beside waters.

⁷Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed in many waters; and his king will be higher than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted.

⁸God who brings him out from Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild ox; he will eat up the nations, his adversaries, and he will gnaw their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

⁹He crouches, he lies down like a lion, and like a lioness; who will rouse him? Those who bless you are blessed, and those who curse you are cursed.

Balak Dismisses Balaam

¹⁰And the anger of Balak was kindled against Balaam, and he clapped his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have utterly blessed them these three times. ¹¹And now, flee for yourself to your place; I said I would greatly honor you, but behold, the LORD has kept you back from honor."

¹²And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying: ¹³'If Balak would give me the fullness of his house of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the mouth of the LORD, to do good or evil from my own heart; what the LORD speaks, that I will speak'?

7Reading 7 Numbers 24:14–25:9Chapter page with footnotes →

^24:14And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days."

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

¹⁵And he took up his parable, and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eye is opened;

¹⁶the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of Shaddai, falling down, yet with eyes uncovered:

¹⁷I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: there steps forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter rises out of Israel, and it shall smite the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁸And Edom shall be a possession, and Seir shall be a possession, his enemies; while Israel does valiantly.

¹⁹And one out of Jacob shall have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.

Balaam’s Final Three Oracles

²⁰And he looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said: "Amalek was the first of the nations, but his end shall be to destruction."

²¹And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said: "Firm is your dwelling place, and set in the rock is your nest;

²²nevertheless Kain shall be for burning; how long until Asshur takes you captive?"

²³And he took up his parable, and said: "Alas, who shall live when God appoints it?

²⁴And ships from the hand of Kittim, and they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; and he also shall be to destruction."

²⁵And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went on his way.

Moab Seduces Israel

^25:1And Israel dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab. ²And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor; and the anger of the LORD burned against Israel.

⁴And the LORD said to Moses, "Take all the heads of the people and hang them up to the LORD before the sun, that the fierceness of the anger of the LORD may turn back from Israel."

⁵And Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Slay each man his men who have joined themselves to Baal-peor."

The Zeal of Phinehas

⁶And behold, a man from the sons of Israel came and brought near to his brothers the Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of appointed time (mo-ed). ⁷And Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest saw it, and he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand. ⁸And he went in after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. So the plague was restrained from upon the sons of Israel. ⁹And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.

PMicah 5:6–6:8Chapter page with footnotes →

The Remnant of Jacob

^5:6And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers upon the grass, which does not wait for a man, nor tarry for the sons of men.

⁷And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, tramples and tears, and there is none to deliver.

⁸Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.

⁹And it shall come to pass in that day, declaration of the LORD, that I will cut off your horses from your midst, and destroy your chariots;

¹⁰And I will cut off the cities of your land, and throw down all your strongholds;

¹¹And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no soothsayers;

¹²And I will cut off your graven images and your pillars from your midst; and you shall no longer bow down to the work of your hands.

¹³And I will pluck up your Asherim from your midst, and destroy your cities.

¹⁴And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations who have not obeyed.

The Case against Israel

^6:1Hear now what the LORD says: Arise, contend before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.

²Hear, O mountains, the contention of the LORD, and the enduring ones, the foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a contention with his people, and with Israel he will dispute.

³My people, what have I done to you? And in what have I wearied you? Testify against me.

⁴For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and from the house of slaves I redeemed you; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

⁵My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him; from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.

⁶With what shall I come before the LORD, bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

⁷Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my belly for the sin of my soul?

⁸He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

A2 Peter 2:12–16Chapter page with footnotes →

^2:12But these, like irrational animals — creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed — blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, ¹³receiving the wage of their wrongdoing; they count it pleasure to revel in the daytime — they are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you. ¹⁴They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin; they entice unstable souls; they have hearts trained in greed — accursed children.

¹⁵Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, ¹⁶but was rebuked for his own transgression — a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.