³ And in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.

⁴ And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering,^(A)

⁵ But for ^[a]Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed.

⁶ And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected?

⁷ If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.

⁸ And Cain said to his brother, ^[b]Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.^(B)

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16 Now Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men,

² And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the Israelites, 250 princes or leaders of the congregation called to the assembly, men well known and of distinction.

³ And they gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, [Enough of you!] You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you lift yourselves up above the assembly of the Lord?

⁴ And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.

⁵ And he said to Korah and all his company, In the morning the Lord will show who are His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him; him whom He has chosen will He cause to come near to Him.^(A)

⁶ Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company,

⁷ And put fire in them and put incense upon them before the Lord tomorrow; and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be holy. You take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi.

⁸ And Moses said to Korah, Hear, I pray you, you sons of Levi:

⁹ Does it seem but a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them,

¹⁰ And that He has brought you near to Him, and all your brethren the sons of Levi with you? Would you seek the priesthood also?

¹¹ Therefore you and all your company are gathered together against the Lord. And Aaron, what is he that you murmur against him?

¹² And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and they said, We will not come up.

¹³ Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also make yourself a prince over us?

¹⁴ Moreover, you have not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you bore out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!

¹⁵ And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, Do not respect their offering! I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them.

¹⁶ And Moses said to Korah, You and all your company be before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron.

¹⁷ And let every man take his censer and put incense upon it and bring before the Lord every man his censer, 250 censers; you also and Aaron, each his censer.

¹⁸ So they took every man his censer, and they put fire in them and laid incense upon it, and they stood at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting with Moses and Aaron.

¹⁹ Then Korah assembled all the congregation against Moses and Aaron before the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

²⁰ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

²¹ Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.

²² And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and will You be angry with all the congregation?

²³ And the Lord said to Moses,

²⁴ Say to the congregation, Get away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.

²⁵ Then Moses rose up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

²⁶ And he said to the congregation, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.

²⁷ So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood in the door of their tents with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.

²⁸ And Moses said, By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I do not act of my own accord:

²⁹ If these men die the common death of all men or if [only] what happens to everyone happens to them, then the Lord has not sent me.

³⁰ But if the Lord causes a new thing [to happen], and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol (the place of the dead), then you shall understand that these men have provoked (spurned, despised) the Lord!

³¹ As soon as he stopped speaking, the ground under the offenders split apart

³² And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households and [Korah and] all [his] men and all their possessions.^(B)

³³ They and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol (the place of the dead); and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.

³⁴ And all Israel who were round about them fled at their cry, for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.

³⁵ And fire came forth from the Lord and devoured the 250 men who offered the incense.

³⁶ And the Lord said to Moses,

³⁷ Speak to Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning and scatter the fire at a distance. For the censers are hallowed—

³⁸ The censers of these men who have sinned against themselves and at the cost of their own lives. Let the censers be made into hammered plates for a covering of the altar [of burnt offering], for they were used in offering before the Lord and therefore they are sacred. They shall be a sign [of warning] to the Israelites.

³⁹ Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers with which the Levites who were burned had offered incense, and they were hammered into broad sheets for a covering of the [brazen] altar [of burnt offering],

⁴⁰ To be a memorial [a warning forever] to the Israelites, so that no outsider, that is, no one not of the descendants of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, lest he become as Korah and as his company, as the Lord said to Eleazar through Moses.

⁴¹ But on the morrow all the congregation of the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, You have killed the people of the Lord.

⁴² When the congregation was gathered against Moses and Aaron, they looked at the Tent of Meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and they saw the Lord’s glory.

⁴³ And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of Meeting.

⁴⁴ And the Lord said to Moses,

⁴⁵ Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces.

⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer and put fire in it from off the altar and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For there is wrath gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun!

⁴⁷ So Aaron took the burning censer as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on the incense and made atonement for the people.

⁴⁸ And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed.

⁴⁹ Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the matter of Korah.

⁵⁰ And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the Tent of Meeting, since the plague was stayed.

22 The Israelites journeyed and encamped in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan [River] at Jericho.

² And Balak [the king of Moab] son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

³ And Moab was terrified at the people and full of dread, because they were many. Moab was distressed and overcome with fear because of the Israelites.

⁴ And Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. So Balak son of Zippor, the king of the Moabites at that time,

⁵ Sent messengers to Balaam [a foreteller of events] son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the [Euphrates] River, even to the land of the children of his people, to say to him, There is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth and they have settled down and dwell opposite me.

⁶ Now come, I beg of you, curse this people for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.

⁷ And the elders of Moab and of Midian departed with the rewards of foretelling in their hands; and they came to Balaam and told him the words of Balak.

⁸ And he said to them, Lodge here tonight and I will bring you word as the Lord may speak to me. And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam [that night].

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

¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,

¹¹ Behold, the people who came out of Egypt cover the face of the earth; come now, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.

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

¹³ And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Go back to your own land, for the Lord refuses to permit me to go with you.

¹⁴ So the princes of Moab rose up and went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come with us.

¹⁵ Then Balak again sent princes, more of them and more honorable than the first ones.

¹⁶ And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus says Balak son of Zippor, I beg of you, let nothing hinder you from coming to me.

¹⁷ For I will promote you to very great honor and I will do whatever you tell me; so come, I beg of you, curse this people for me.

¹⁸ And Balaam answered the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.

¹⁹ Now therefore, I pray you, tarry here again tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.

²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men come to call you, rise up and go with them, but still only what I tell you may you do.

²¹ And Balaam rose up in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

²² And God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the ^[a]Angel of the Lord stood in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

²³ And the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way and His sword drawn in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the way.

²⁴ But the Angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall on this side and a wall on that side.

²⁵ And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she thrust herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against it, and he struck her again.

²⁶ And the Angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right hand or to the left.

²⁷ And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam, and Balaam’s anger was kindled and he struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸ And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you should strike me these three times?

²⁹ And Balaam said to the donkey, Because you have ridiculed and provoked me! I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!

³⁰ And the donkey said to Balaam, Am not I your donkey, upon which you have ridden all your life long until this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you? And he said, No.

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His sword drawn in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell on his face.

³² And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you struck your donkey these three times? See, I came out to stand against and resist you, for your behavior is willfully obstinate and contrary before Me.

³³ And the ass saw Me and turned from Me these three times. If she had not turned from Me, surely I would have slain you and saved her alive.

³⁴ Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. But now, if my going displeases You, I will return.

³⁵ The Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men, but you shall speak only what I tell you. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab on the border formed by the Arnon [River], at the farthest end of the boundary.

³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, Did I not [earnestly] send to you to ask you [to come] to me? Why did you not come? Am not I able to promote you to honor?

³⁸ And Balaam said to Balak, Indeed I have come to you, but do I now have any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak.

³⁹ And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

⁴⁰ And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent [portions] to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

⁴¹ And on the following day Balak took Balaam and brought him up into the high places of Bamoth-baal; from there he saw the nearest of the Israelites.

23 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.

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

³ And Balaam said to Balak, Stand by your burnt offering and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me; and whatever He shows me I will tell you. And he went to a bare height.

⁴ God met Balaam, who said to Him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.

⁵ And the Lord put a speech in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return to Balak and thus shall you speak.

⁶ Balaam returned to Balak, who was standing by his burnt sacrifice, he and all the princes of Moab.

⁷ Balaam took up his [figurative] speech and said: Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse Jacob for me; and come, violently denounce Israel.

⁸ How can I curse those God has not cursed? Or how can I [violently] denounce those the Lord has not denounced?

⁹ For from the top of the rocks I see Israel, and from the hills I behold him. Behold, the people [of Israel] shall ^[b]dwell alone and shall not be reckoned and esteemed among the nations.

¹⁰ Who can count the dust (the descendants) of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God], and let my last end be like theirs!^(A)

¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, and here you have [thoroughly] blessed them instead!

¹² And Balaam answered, Must I not be obedient and speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?

¹³ Balak said to him, Come with me, I implore you, to another place from which you can see them, though you will see only the nearest and not all of them; and curse them for me from there.

¹⁴ So he took Balaam into the field of Zophim to the top of [Mount] Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the Lord yonder.

¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam and put a speech in his mouth, and said, Go again to Balak and speak thus.

¹⁷ And when he returned to Balak, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said?

¹⁸ Balaam took up his [figurative] discourse and said: Rise up, Balak, and hear; listen [closely] to me, son of Zippor.

¹⁹ God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?

²⁰ You see, I have received His command to bless Israel. He has blessed, and I cannot reverse or qualify it.

²¹ [God] has not beheld iniquity in Jacob [for he is forgiven], neither has He seen mischief or perverseness in Israel [for the same reason]. The Lord their God is with Israel, and the shout of praise to their King is among the people.^(B)

²² God brought them forth out of Egypt; they have as it were the strength of a wild ox.

²³ Surely there is no enchantment with or against Jacob, neither is there any divination with or against Israel. [In due season and even] now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God wrought!

²⁴ Behold, a people! They rise up as a lioness and lift themselves up as a lion; he shall not lie down until he devours the prey and drinks the blood of the slain.

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

²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, Did I not say to you, All the Lord speaks, that I must do?

²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I implore you; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.

²⁸ So Balak brought Balaam to the top of [Mount] Peor, that overlooks [the wilderness or desert] Jeshimon.

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

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

24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as he had done each time before [superstitiously] to meet with omens and signs in the natural world, but he set his face toward the wilderness or desert.

² And Balaam lifted up his eyes and he saw Israel abiding in their tents according to their tribes. And the Spirit of God came upon him

³ And he took up his [figurative] discourse and said: Balaam son of Beor, the man whose eye is opened [at last, to see clearly the purposes and will of God],

⁴ He [Balaam] who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered, he says:

⁵ How attractive and considerable are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel!

⁶ As valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as [rare spice] of lignaloes which the Lord has planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.^(C)

⁷ [Israel] shall pour water out of his own buckets [have his own sources of rich blessing and plenty], and his offspring shall dwell by many waters, and his king shall be higher than ^[c]Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸ God brought [Israel] forth out of Egypt; [Israel] has strength like the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his enemies, crushing their bones and piercing them through with his arrows.

⁹ He couched, he lay down as a lion; and as a lioness, who shall rouse him? Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you [who prays for and contributes to your welfare] and cursed [of God] is he who curses you [who in word, thought, or deed would bring harm upon you].^(D)

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times.

¹¹ Therefore now go back where you belong and do it in a hurry! I had intended to promote you to great honor, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.

¹² Balaam said to Balak, Did I not say to your messengers whom you sent to me,

¹³ If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the command of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will, but what the Lord says, that will I speak?

¹⁴ And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, I will tell you what this people [Israel] will do to your people [Moab] in the latter days.

¹⁵ And he took up his [figurative] discourse, and said: Balaam son of Beor speaks, the man whose eye is opened speaks,

¹⁶ He speaks, who heard the words of God and knew the knowledge of the Most High, who saw the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered:

¹⁷ I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but He is not near. A ^[d]star (Star) shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter (Scepter) shall rise out of Israel and shall crush all the corners of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth [Moab’s sons of tumult].^(E)

¹⁸ And Edom shall be [taken as] a possession, [Mount] Seir also shall be dispossessed, who were Israel’s enemies, while Israel does valiantly.

¹⁹ Out of Jacob shall one (One) come having dominion and shall destroy the remnant from the city.

²⁰ [Balaam] looked at Amalek and took up his [prophetic] utterance, and said: Amalek is the foremost of the [neighboring] nations, but in his latter end he shall ^[e]come to destruction.

²¹ And he looked at the Kenites and took up his [prophetic] utterance, and said: Strong is your dwelling place, and you set your nest in the rock.

²² Nevertheless the Kenites shall be wasted. How long shall Asshur (Assyria) take you away captive?

²³ And he took up his [prophetic] speech, and said: Alas, who shall live when God does this and establishes [Assyria]?

²⁴ But ships shall come from Kittim [Cyprus and the greater part of the Mediterranean’s east coast] and shall afflict Assyria and Eber [the Hebrews, certain Arabs, and descendants of Nahor], and he [the victor] also shall come to destruction.

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