Numbers 10:11-25:18

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

II. Departure, Rebellion, and Wandering in the Wilderness for Forty Years

Departure from Sinai. ¹¹ In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud rose from the tabernacle of the covenant, ¹² and the Israelites moved on from the wilderness of Sinai by stages, until the cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.

¹³ The first time that they broke camp at the direction of the Lord through Moses, ^14 (A)the divisional camp of the Judahites, arranged in companies, was the first to set out. Over its whole company was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, ¹⁵ with Nethanel, son of Zuar, over the company of the tribe of Issacharites, ¹⁶ and Eliab, son of Helon, over the company of the tribe of Zebulunites. ¹⁷ Then, after the tabernacle was dismantled, the Gershonites and Merarites who carried the tabernacle set out. ¹⁸ The divisional camp of the Reubenites, arranged in companies, was the next to set out. Over its whole company was Elizur, son of Shedeur, ¹⁹ with Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, over the company of the tribe of Simeonites, ²⁰ and Eliasaph, son of Reuel, over the company of the tribe of Gadites. ²¹ The Kohathites, who carried the sacred objects, then set out. Before their arrival the tabernacle would be erected. ²² The divisional camp of the Ephraimites set out next, arranged in companies. Over its whole company was Elishama, son of Ammihud, ²³ with Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, over the company of the tribe of Manassites, ²⁴ and Abidan, son of Gideoni, over the company of the tribe of Benjaminites. ²⁵ Finally, as rear guard for all the camps, the divisional camp of the Danites set out, arranged in companies. Over its whole company was Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶ with Pagiel, son of Ochran, over the company of the tribe of Asherites, ²⁷ and Ahira, son of Enan, over the company of the tribe of Naphtalites. ²⁸ This was the order of march for the Israelites, company by company, when they set out.

Hobab as Guide. ²⁹ Moses said to Hobab,^[a] son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place concerning which the Lord has said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will be generous toward you, for the Lord has promised prosperity to Israel.” ³⁰ But he answered, “No, I will not come. I am going instead to the land of my birth.” ³¹ Moses said, “Please, do not leave us; you know where we can camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our guide. ³² If you come with us, we will share with you the prosperity the Lord will bestow on us.”

Into the Wilderness. ^33 (B)From the mountain of the Lord^[b] they made a journey of three days, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three-day journey to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴ And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from camp.

³⁵ Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say,

³⁶ And when it came to rest, he would say,

Chapter 11

Discontent of the People. ¹ Now the people complained bitterly in the hearing of the Lord;^(C) and when he heard it his wrath flared up, so that the Lord’s fire burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. ² But when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died out. ³ Hence that place was called Taberah,^[c] because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴ The riffraff among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again,^(D) “If only we had meat for food! ⁵ We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now we are famished; we have nothing to look forward to but this manna.”^(E)

^7 (F)Manna was like coriander seed^[d] and had the appearance of bdellium. ⁸ When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, with a rich creamy taste. ⁹ At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell.^(G)

¹⁰ When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the Lord became very angry, he was grieved. ¹¹ “Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the Lord. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? ¹² Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my breast, like a nurse carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? ¹³ Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, ‘Give us meat for our food.’ ¹⁴ I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face my distress.”

The Seventy Elders. ¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses: Assemble for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders and authorities among the people, and bring them to the tent of meeting. When they are in place beside you, ¹⁷ I will come down and speak with you there. I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and will confer it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself.

¹⁸ To the people, however, you shall say: “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, when you shall have meat to eat. For in the hearing of the Lord you have cried, ‘If only we had meat for food! Oh, how well off we were in Egypt!’ Therefore the Lord will give you meat to eat, ¹⁹ and you will eat it, not for one day, or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month—until it comes out of your very nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. For you have rejected the Lord who is in your midst, and in his presence you have cried, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”

²¹ But Moses said, “The people around me include six hundred thousand soldiers; yet you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.’ ²² Can enough sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” ²³ The Lord answered Moses: Is this beyond the Lord’s reach? You shall see now whether or not what I have said to you takes place.

The Spirit on the Elders. ²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. Gathering seventy elders of the people, he had them stand around the tent. ²⁵ The Lord then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied^[e] but did not continue.

²⁶ Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp, yet the spirit came to rest on them also. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ So, when a young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” ²⁸ Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” ²⁹ But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the Lord were prophets! If only the Lord would bestow his spirit on them!” ³⁰ Then Moses retired to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.

The Quail. ³¹ There arose a wind^(H) from the Lord that drove in quail from the sea and left them all around the camp site, to a distance of a day’s journey and at a depth of two cubits upon the ground.^{[f] 32 (I)}So all that day, all night, and all the next day the people set about to gather in the quail. Even the one who got the least gathered ten homers^[g] of them. Then they spread them out all around the camp. ³³ But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it could be chewed, the Lord’s wrath flared up against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very great plague. ³⁴ So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah,^[h] because it was there that the greedy people were buried.

³⁵ From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, where they stayed.

Chapter 12

Jealousy of Aaron and Miriam. ¹ Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the Cushite woman he had married; for he had in fact married a Cushite woman.^{[i] 2} They complained,^[j] “Is it through Moses alone that the Lord has spoken? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard this. ^3 (J)Now the man Moses was very humble, more than anyone else on earth. ⁴ So at once the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam: Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting. And the three of them went. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in a column of cloud, and standing at the entrance of the tent, called, “Aaron and Miriam.” When both came forward, ⁶ the Lord said: Now listen to my words:

Why, then, do you not fear to speak against my servant Moses? ⁹ And so the Lord’s wrath flared against them, and he departed.

Miriam’s Punishment. ¹⁰ Now the cloud withdrew from the tent, and there was Miriam,^(M) stricken with a scaly infection, white as snow!^[l] When Aaron turned toward Miriam and saw her stricken with snow-white scales, ¹¹ he said to Moses, “Ah, my lord! Please do not charge us with the sin that we have foolishly committed! ¹² Do not let her be like the stillborn baby that comes forth from its mother’s womb with its flesh half consumed.” ¹³ Then Moses cried to the Lord, “Please, not this! Please, heal her!” ¹⁴ But the Lord answered Moses: Suppose her father had spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; afterwards she may be brought back. ¹⁵ So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not start out again until she was brought back.

¹⁶ After that the people set out from Hazeroth and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.

Chapter 13

The Twelve Scouts. ¹ The Lord said to Moses: ² Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, every one a leader among them. ^3 (N)So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, at the direction of the Lord. All of them were leaders among the Israelites. ⁴ These were their names:

¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to reconnoiter the land. But Hoshea, son of Nun, Moses called Joshua.^[m]

¹⁷ In sending them to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, Moses said to them, “Go up there in the Negeb, up into the highlands, ¹⁸ and see what kind of land it is and whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ Is the country in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they dwell open or fortified? ²⁰ Is the soil fertile or barren, wooded or clear? And do your best to get some of the fruit of the land.” It was then the season for early grapes.

²¹ So they went up and reconnoitered the land from the wilderness of Zin^[n] as far as where Rehob adjoins Lebo-hamath. ^22 (O)Going up by way of the Negeb, they reached Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, descendants of the Anakim,^[o] were. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³ They also reached the Wadi Eshcol,^[p] where they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes on it, which two of them carried on a pole, as well as some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ It was because of the cluster the Israelites cut there that they called the place Wadi Eshcol.^(P)

Their Report. ²⁵ They returned from reconnoitering the land forty days later. ^26 (Q)Proceeding directly to Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, they made a report to them and to the whole community, showing them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They told Moses: “We came to the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. ²⁸ However, the people who are living in the land are powerful, and the towns are fortified and very large.^(R) Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there. ²⁹ Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites dwell in the highlands, and Canaanites along the sea and the banks of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Caleb, however, quieted the people before Moses and said, “We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly prevail over it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us.” ³² They spread discouraging reports^(S) among the Israelites about the land they had reconnoitered, saying, “The land that we went through and reconnoitered is a land that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge. ^33 (T)There we saw the Nephilim^[q] (the Anakim are from the Nephilim); in our own eyes we seemed like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.”

Chapter 14

Threats of Revolt. ¹ At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries, and the people wept into the night. ^2 (U)All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, the whole community saying to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt,” or “If only we would die here in the wilderness! ³ Why is the Lord bringing us into this land only to have us fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be taken as spoil. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵ But Moses and Aaron fell prostrate before the whole assembled community of the Israelites; ⁶ while Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, who had been among those that reconnoitered the land, tore their garments ⁷ and said to the whole community of the Israelites,^(V) “The land which we went through and reconnoitered is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us in to this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. ^9 (W)Only do not rebel against the Lord! You need not be afraid of the people of the land, for they are but food for us!^[r] Their protection has left them, but the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

The Lord’s Sentence. ¹⁰ The whole community threatened to stone them. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses: How long will this people spurn me? How long will they not trust me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?^{(X) 12} I will strike them with pestilence and disown them. Then I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.^(Y)

^13 (Z)But Moses said to the Lord: “The Egyptians will hear of this, for by your power you brought out this people from among them. ¹⁴ They will tell the inhabitants of this land, who have heard that you, Lord, are in the midst of this people; you, Lord, who directly revealed yourself! Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them by day in a column of cloud and by night in a column of fire.^{(AA) 15} If now you slay this people all at once, the nations who have heard such reports of you will say, ¹⁶ ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them; that is why he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’^{(AB) 17} Now then, may my Lord’s forbearance be great, even as you have said, ^18 (AC)‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in kindness, forgiving iniquity and rebellion; yet certainly not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children to the third and fourth generation for their parents’ iniquity.’ ¹⁹ Pardon, then, the iniquity of this people in keeping with your great kindness, even as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”^(AD)

²⁰ The Lord answered: I pardon them as you have asked. ²¹ Yet, by my life and the Lord’s glory that fills the whole earth, ²² of all the people who have seen my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the wilderness,^(AE) and who nevertheless have put me to the test ten times already and have not obeyed me, ²³ not one shall see the land which I promised on oath to their ancestors. None of those who have spurned me shall see it. ²⁴ But as for my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and follows me unreservedly,^(AF) I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall possess it. ²⁵ But now, since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys,^[s] turn away tomorrow and set out into the wilderness by way of the Red Sea road.

²⁶ The Lord also said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷ How long will this wicked community grumble against me?^(AG) I have heard the grumblings of the Israelites against me. ²⁸ Tell them:^[t] “By my life”—oracle of the Lord—“I will do to you just what I have heard you say. ²⁹ Here in the wilderness^(AH) your dead bodies shall fall. Of all your men of twenty years or more, enrolled in your registration, who grumbled against me, ³⁰ not one of you shall enter the land where I solemnly swore to settle you, except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun. ³¹ Your little ones, however, who you said would be taken as spoil, I will bring in, and they shall know the land you rejected.^{(AI) 32} But as for you, your bodies shall fall here in the wilderness, ³³ while your children will wander for forty years, suffering for your infidelity, till the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.^{(AJ) 34} Corresponding to the number of days you spent reconnoitering the land—forty days—you shall bear your punishment one year for each day: forty years. Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me. ³⁵ I, the Lord, have spoken; and I will surely do this to this entire wicked community that conspired against me: here in the wilderness they shall come to their end and there they will die.”

³⁶ And the men whom Moses had sent to reconnoiter the land^(AK) and who on returning had set the whole community grumbling against him by spreading discouraging reports about the land— ³⁷ these men who had spread discouraging reports about the land were struck down by the Lord and died. ³⁸ Only Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, survived of all the men who had gone to reconnoiter the land.^(AL)

Unsuccessful Invasion. ³⁹ When Moses repeated these words to all the Israelites, the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰ Early the next morning they started up high into the hill country, saying, “Here we are, ready to go up to the place that the Lord spoke of:^(AM) for we did wrong.” ⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you now transgressing the Lord’s order? This cannot succeed. ⁴² Do not go up, because the Lord is not in your midst; do not allow yourself to be struck down by your enemies.^{(AN) 43} For there the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you, and you will fall by the sword. You have turned back from following the Lord; therefore the Lord will not be with you.”

⁴⁴ Yet they dared to go up high into the hill country,^(AO) even though neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵ And the Amalekites and Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country came down and defeated them, beating them back as far as Hormah.^[u]

Chapter 15

Secondary Offerings. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ^2 [v]Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you for your settlements, ³ if you make to the Lord an oblation from the herd or from the flock—either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a voluntary offering, or for one of your festivals—to produce a pleasing aroma for the Lord, ⁴ the one presenting the offering shall also present to the Lord a grain offering, a tenth of a measure^[w] of bran flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil, ⁵ as well as wine for a libation, a fourth of a hin. You will do this with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb. ⁶ Alternatively for a ram you shall make a grain offering of two tenths of a measure of bran flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil, ⁷ and for a libation, a third of a hin of wine, thereby presenting a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ⁸ If you make an offering from the herd—either a burnt offering, or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow, or as a communion offering to the Lord, ⁹ with it a grain offering of three tenths of a measure of bran flour mixed with half a hin of oil will be presented; ¹⁰ and you will present for a libation, half a hin of wine—a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord. ¹¹ The same is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb or goat. ¹² Whatever the number you offer, do the same for each of them.

¹³ All the native-born shall make these offerings in this way, whenever they present a sweet-smelling oblation to the Lord. ¹⁴ Likewise, in any future generation, any alien residing with you or anyone else in your midst, who presents an oblation of pleasing aroma to the Lord, must do as you do. ¹⁵ There is but one statute for you and for the resident alien, a perpetual statute throughout your generations. You and the resident alien will be alike before the Lord; ¹⁶ you and the alien residing with you will have the same rule and the same application of it.

¹⁷ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁸ Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land into which I am bringing you ¹⁹ and eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer the Lord a contribution. ²⁰ A round loaf from your first batch of dough^[x] you shall offer as a contribution. Just like a contribution from the threshing floor you shall offer it.^{(AP) 21} Throughout your generations you shall give a contribution to the Lord from your first batch of dough.

Purification Offerings.^{[y] 22} If through inadvertence you fail to do any of these commandments which the Lord has given to Moses—^{(AQ) 23} anything the Lord commanded you through Moses from the time the Lord first gave the command down through your generations— ²⁴ if it was done inadvertently without the community’s knowledge, the whole community shall sacrifice one bull from the herd as a burnt offering of pleasing aroma to the Lord, along with its prescribed grain offering and libation, as well as one he-goat as a purification offering. ^25 (AR)Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole Israelite community; and they will be forgiven, since it was inadvertence, and for their inadvertence they have brought their offering: an oblation to the Lord as well as their purification offering before the Lord. ²⁶ Not only the whole Israelite community but also the aliens residing among you shall be forgiven, since the inadvertent fault affects all the people.

²⁷ If it is an individual who sins inadvertently,^(AS) this person shall bring a yearling she-goat as a purification offering. ²⁸ And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred, since the sin was inadvertent, making atonement for the person to secure forgiveness. ²⁹ You shall have but one rule for the person who sins inadvertently, whether a native-born Israelite or an alien residing among you.

³⁰ But anyone who acts defiantly,^(AT) whether a native or an alien, reviles the Lord, and shall be cut off from among the people. ^31 (AU)For having despised the word of the Lord and broken his commandment, he must be cut off entirely and bear the punishment.

The Sabbath-breaker. ³² While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was discovered gathering wood on the sabbath day. ³³ Those who caught him at it brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole community. ³⁴ But they put him in custody, for there was no clear decision^[z] as to what should be done with him.^{(AV) 35} Then the Lord said to Moses: This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp. ³⁶ So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Tassels on the Cloak. ³⁷ The Lord said to Moses: ³⁸ Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels^[aa] for the corners of their garments, fastening a violet cord to each corner.^{(AW) 39} When you use these tassels, the sight of the cord will remind you of all the commandments of the Lord and you will do them, without prostituting yourself going after the desires of your hearts and your eyes. ⁴⁰ Thus you will remember to do all my commandments and you will be holy to your God. ⁴¹ I, the Lord, am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the Lord your God.^(AX)

Chapter 16

Rebellion of Korah. ^1 [ab]Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On, son of Peleth,^[ac] son of Reuben took ² two hundred and fifty Israelites who were leaders in the community, members of the council and men of note, and confronted Moses. ³ Holding an assembly against Moses and Aaron, they said,^(AY) “You go too far! The whole community, all of them, are holy; the Lord is in their midst. Why then should you set yourselves over the Lord’s assembly?”

⁴ When Moses heard this, he fell prostrate. ⁵ Then he said to Korah and to all his faction, “May the Lord make known tomorrow morning who belongs to him and who is the holy one and whom he will have draw near to him! The one whom he chooses, he will have draw near to him. ⁶ Do this: take your censers, Korah and all his faction, ⁷ and put fire in them and place incense in them before the Lord tomorrow. He whom the Lord then chooses is the holy one. You Levites go too far!”

⁸ Moses also said to Korah, “Hear, now, you Levites! ^9 (AZ)Are you not satisfied that the God of Israel has singled you out from the community of Israel, to have you draw near him to maintain the Lord’s tabernacle, and to attend upon the community and to serve them? ¹⁰ He has allowed you and your Levite kinsmen with you to approach him, and yet you seek the priesthood too. ¹¹ It is therefore against the Lord that you and all your faction are conspiring. As for Aaron, what has he done that you should grumble against him?”

Rebellion of Dathan and Abiram. ¹² Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, but they answered, “We will not go.^{[ad] 13} Are you not satisfied that you have brought us here from a land flowing with milk and honey to have us perish in the wilderness, that now you must also lord it over us? ¹⁴ Far from bringing us to a land flowing with milk and honey, or giving us fields and vineyards for our inheritance, will you gouge out our eyes?^[ae] No, we will not go.”

¹⁵ Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Pay no attention to their offering. I have never taken a single donkey from them, nor have I wronged any one of them.”^(BA)

Korah. ¹⁶ Moses said to Korah, “You and all your faction shall appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron too. ¹⁷ Then each of you take his own censer, put incense in it, and present it before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; and you and Aaron, each with his own censer, do the same.” ¹⁸ So each of them took their censers, and laying incense on the fire they had put in them, they took their stand by the entrance of the tent of meeting along with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹ Then, when Korah had assembled all the community against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire community, ²⁰ and the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²¹ Stand apart from this community, that I may consume them at once. ²² But they fell prostrate and exclaimed, “O God, God of the spirits of all living creatures, if one man sins will you be angry with the whole community?” ²³ The Lord answered Moses: ²⁴ Speak to the community and tell them: Withdraw from the area around the tent^[af] of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.

Punishment of Dathan and Abiram. ²⁵ Moses, followed by the elders of Israel, arose and went to Dathan and Abiram.^{[ag] 26} Then he spoke to the community, “Move away from the tents of these wicked men and do not touch anything that is theirs: otherwise you too will be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷ So they withdrew from the area around the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. When Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrance of their tents with their wives, their children, and their little ones, ²⁸ Moses said, “This is how you shall know that the Lord sent me to do all I have done, and that it was not of my own devising: ²⁹ if these die an ordinary death, merely suffering the fate common to all humanity, the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰ But if the Lord makes a chasm, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them with all belonging to them, and they go down alive to Sheol,^[ah] then you will know that these men have spurned the Lord.” ^31 (BB)No sooner had he finished saying all this than the ground beneath them split open, ³² and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their families and all of Korah’s people^[ai] with all their possessions. ³³ They went down alive to Sheol with all belonging to them; the earth closed over them, and they disappeared from the assembly. ³⁴ But all the Israelites near them fled at their shrieks, saying, “The earth might swallow us too!”

Punishment of Korah. ³⁵ And fire from the Lord came forth which consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.

Chapter 17

¹ The Lord said to Moses: ² Tell Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, to remove the censers from the embers; and scatter the fire some distance away, for they have become holy— ^3 [aj]the censers of those who sinned at the cost of their lives. Have them hammered into plates to cover the altar, because in being presented before the Lord they have become holy. In this way they shall serve as a sign to the Israelites. ⁴ So taking the bronze censers which had been presented by those who were burned, Eleazar the priest had them hammered into a covering for the altar, ⁵ just as the Lord had directed him through Moses. This was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no unauthorized person, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, should draw near to offer incense before the Lord, lest he meet the fate of Korah and his faction.

⁶ The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.” ⁷ But while the community was assembling against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and the cloud now covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁸ Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁹ and the Lord said to Moses: ¹⁰ Remove yourselves from this community, that I may consume them at once. But they fell prostrate.

¹¹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, and bring it quickly to the community to make atonement for them; for wrath has come forth from the Lord and the plague has begun.”^{(BC) 12} Aaron took his censer just as Moses directed and ran in among the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. Then he offered the incense and made atonement for the people, ¹³ while standing there between the living and the dead. And so the scourge was checked. ¹⁴ There were fourteen thousand seven hundred dead from the scourge, in addition to those who died because of Korah. ¹⁵ When the scourge had been checked, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Aaron’s Staff. ¹⁶ The Lord now said to Moses: ¹⁷ Speak to the Israelites and get from them a staff^[ak] for each ancestral house, twelve staffs in all, from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff; ¹⁸ and write Aaron’s name on Levi’s staff.^[al] For each head of an ancestral house shall have a staff. ¹⁹ Then deposit them in the tent of meeting, in front of the covenant, where I meet you. ²⁰ The staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will rid myself of the Israelites’ grumbling against you.

²¹ So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and all their leaders gave him staffs, twelve in all, one from each leader of their ancestral houses; and Aaron’s staff was among them. ²² Then Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant. ²³ The next day, when Moses entered the tent of the covenant, Aaron’s staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted. It had put forth sprouts, produced blossoms, and borne ripe almonds! ²⁴ So Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites, and each one identified his own staff and took it. ²⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses: Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the covenant, for safe keeping as a sign to the rebellious, so that their grumbling against me may cease and they might not die. ²⁶ Moses did this. Just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

Charge of the Sacred Things. ^27 [am]Then the Israelites exclaimed to Moses, “We will perish; we are lost, we are all lost! ²⁸ Anyone who approaches the tabernacle of the Lord will die! Will there be no end to our perishing?”

Chapter 18

¹ The Lord said to Aaron:^[an] You and your sons as well as your ancestral house with you^[ao] shall be responsible for any sin with respect to the sanctuary; but only you and your sons with you shall be responsible for any sin with respect to your priesthood. ² You shall also present with you your kinsmen of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, that they may be joined to you^[ap] and assist you, while you and your sons with you are in front of the tent of the covenant. ³ They shall discharge your obligations and those with respect to the whole tent; however, they shall not come near the utensils of the sanctuary or the altar, or else both they and you will die. ⁴ They will be joined to you to perform the duties associated with the tent of meeting, all the labor pertaining to the tent. But no unauthorized person^[aq] shall come near you. ⁵ You shall perform the duties of the sanctuary and of the altar, that wrath may not fall again upon the Israelites.

⁶ I hereby take your kinsmen, the Levites, from among the Israelites; they are a gift to you,^(BD) dedicated to the Lord for the labor they perform for the tent of meeting. ^7 (BE)But you and your sons with you must take care to exercise your priesthood in whatever concerns the altar and the area within the veil.^[ar] I give you your priesthood as a gift. Any unauthorized person who comes near shall be put to death.

The Priests’ Share of the Sacrifices. ⁸ The Lord said to Aaron:^[as] I hereby give to you charge of the contributions made to me, including the various holy offerings of the Israelites;^(BF) I assign them to you and to your sons as a perquisite, a perpetual due. ⁹ This is what you shall have from the oblations that are most holy: every offering of theirs—namely, all their grain offerings, purification offerings, and reparation offerings which they must return to me—shall be most holy for you and for your sons. ¹⁰ You shall eat them in a most holy place;^[at] every male may partake of them. As holy, they belong to you.

¹¹ This also you shall have: the contributions that are their gifts, including the elevated offering^[au] of the Israelites; I assign them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual due.^(BG) All in your household who are clean may eat them. ¹² I also assign to you all the best^(BH) of the new oil and of the new wine and grain that they give to the Lord as their first produce that has been processed. ¹³ The first-ripened fruits of whatever is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; all of your household who are clean may eat them. ¹⁴ Whatever is under the ban^[av] in Israel shall be yours. ¹⁵ Every living thing that opens the womb, human being and beast alike, such as are to be offered to the Lord, shall be yours;^(BI) but you must redeem the firstborn of human beings, as well as redeem the firstborn of unclean animals. ¹⁶ For the redemption price of a son, when he is a month old, you shall pay the equivalent of five silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel, that is, twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ But the firstborn of cattle, or the firstborn of sheep or the firstborn of goats you shall not redeem; they are holy. Their blood you must splash on the altar and their fat you must burn as an oblation of pleasing aroma to the Lord. ^18 (BJ)Their meat, however, shall be yours, just as the brisket of the elevated offering and the right thigh belong to you. ¹⁹ As a perpetual due I assign to you and to your sons and daughters with you all the contributions of holy things which the Israelites set aside for the Lord; this is a covenant of salt^[aw] to last forever before the Lord, for you and for your descendants with you. ^20 (BK)Then the Lord said to Aaron:^[ax] You shall not have any heritage in their land nor hold any portion among them; I will be your portion and your heritage among the Israelites.

Tithes Due the Levites. ²¹ To the Levites, however, I hereby assign all tithes in Israel as their heritage in recompense for the labor they perform, the labor pertaining to the tent of meeting.^{(BL) 22} The Israelites may no longer approach the tent of meeting, thereby incurring the penalty of death. ²³ Only the Levites are to perform the labor pertaining to the tent of meeting, and they shall incur the penalty for the Israelites’ sin;^[ay] this is a permanent statute for all your generations. But they shall not have any heritage among the Israelites, ²⁴ for I have assigned to the Levites as their heritage the tithes which the Israelites put aside as a contribution to the Lord. That is why I have said, they will not have any heritage among the Israelites.

Tithes Paid by the Levites. ²⁵ The Lord said to Moses: ²⁶ Speak to the Levites and say to them: When you take from the Israelites the tithes I have assigned you from them as your heritage, you are to make a contribution from them to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe; ²⁷ and your contribution will be credited to you as if it were grain from the threshing floor or new wine from the vat. ²⁸ Thus you too shall make a contribution to the Lord from all the tithes you take from the Israelites, handing over to Aaron the priest the contribution to the Lord. ²⁹ From all the gifts to you, you shall make every contribution due to the Lord—from their best parts, that is the part to be consecrated from them.

³⁰ Say to them also: Once you have made your contribution from the best part, the rest of the tithe will be credited to the Levites as if it were produce of the threshing floor or the produce of the vat. ³¹ You and your households may eat it anywhere, since it is your recompense in exchange for labor in the tent of meeting. ³² You will incur no punishment when you contribute the best part of it. But do not profane the holy offerings of the Israelites or else you shall die.

Chapter 19

Ashes of the Red Heifer. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: ² This is the statute for the ritual which the Lord has commanded. Tell the Israelites to procure for you a red heifer without defect and free from every blemish and on which no yoke has ever been laid. ³ You will give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be led outside the camp^[az] and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴ Eleazar the priest will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.^{[ba] 5} Then the heifer will be burned in his sight; it will be burned with its hide and flesh, its blood and dung; ⁶ and the priest will take cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them into the fire in which the heifer is being burned. ⁷ The priest shall then wash his garments and bathe his body in water, afterward he may enter the camp. The priest remains unclean until the evening. ⁸ Likewise, the one who burned the heifer shall wash his garments in water, bathe his body in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁹ Then somebody who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a clean place outside the camp. There they are to be kept to prepare purification water for the Israelite community. This is a purification offering. ¹⁰ The one who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer shall also wash his garments and be unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute, both for the Israelites and for the alien residing among them.

Use of the Ashes. ¹¹ Those who touch the corpse of any human being will be unclean for seven days; ¹² they shall purify themselves with the water on the third and on the seventh day, and then be clean. But if they fail to purify themselves on the third and on the seventh day, they will not become clean. ^13 (BM)Those who touch the corpse of a human being who dies and who fail to purify themselves defile the tabernacle of the Lord and these persons shall be cut off from Israel. Since the purification water has not been splashed over them, they remain unclean: their uncleanness is still on them.

¹⁴ This is the ritual: When someone dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent, as well as everyone already in it, will be unclean for seven days; ¹⁵ and every open vessel with its lid unfastened will be unclean. ¹⁶ Moreover, everyone who in the open country touches a person who has been slain by the sword or who has died naturally, or who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷ For anyone who is thus unclean, ashes shall be taken from the burnt purification offering, and spring water will be poured on them from a vessel.^{(BN) 18} Then someone who is clean will take hyssop, dip it in this water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the vessels and persons that were in it, or on the one who touched the bone, the slain person or the other corpse, or the grave. ¹⁹ The clean will sprinkle the unclean on the third and on the seventh day, and thus purify them on the seventh day. Then they will wash their garments and bathe in water, and in the evening be clean. ^20 [bb]Those who become unclean and fail to purify themselves—those people will be cut off from the assembly, because they defile the sanctuary of the Lord. The purification water has not been splashed over them; they remain unclean. ²¹ This will be a permanent statute for you.

Those who sprinkle the purification water will wash their garments, and those who come in contact with the purification water will be unclean until evening. ²² Moreover, anything that the unclean person touches becomes unclean itself, and the one who touches such a person becomes unclean until evening.

Chapter 20^[bc]

Death of Miriam. ¹ The Israelites, the whole community, arrived in the wilderness of Zin^[bd] in the first month, and the people stayed at Kadesh. It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried.

Need for Water at Kadesh. ² Since the community had no water, they held an assembly against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people quarreled with Moses, exclaiming, “Would that we had perished when our kindred perished before the Lord! ⁴ Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? ⁵ Why have you brought us up out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place for grain nor figs nor vines nor pomegranates! And there is no water to drink!” ⁶ But Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting, where they fell prostrate.

Sin of Moses and Aaron. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them, ⁷ and the Lord said to Moses: ⁸ Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and in their presence command the rock to yield its waters. Thereby you will bring forth water from the rock for them, and supply the community and their livestock with water. ⁹ So Moses took the staff from its place before the Lord, as he was ordered. ¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly in front of the rock, where he said to them,^(BO) “Just listen, you rebels! Are we to produce water for you out of this rock?” ^11 (BP)Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice^[be] with his staff, and water came out in abundance, and the community and their livestock drank. ^12 [bf]But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you did not have confidence in me, to acknowledge my holiness before the Israelites, therefore you shall not lead this assembly into the land I have given them.

¹³ These are the waters of Meribah,^(BQ) where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord, and through which he displayed his holiness.

Edom’s Refusal. ¹⁴ From Kadesh Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel:^[bg] You know of all the hardships that have befallen us, ¹⁵ how our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we stayed in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians treated us and our ancestors harshly. ¹⁶ When we cried to the Lord,^(BR) he heard our cry and sent an angel who led us out of Egypt. Now here we are at Kadesh, a town at the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your land. We will not cross any fields or vineyards, nor drink any well water, but we will go straight along the King’s Highway^[bh] without turning to the right or to the left, until we have passed through your territory.”

¹⁸ But Edom answered him, “You shall not pass through here; if you do, I will advance against you with the sword.” ¹⁹ The Israelites said to him, “We will go up along the highway. If we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. It is nothing—just let us pass through on foot.” ²⁰ But Edom replied, “You shall not pass through,”^(BS) and advanced against them with a large and heavily armed force. ²¹ Therefore, since Edom refused to let Israel pass through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

Death of Aaron. ^22 (BT)Setting out from Kadesh, the Israelites, the whole community, came to Mount Hor.^{[bi] 23} There at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁴ Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land I have given to the Israelites, because you both rebelled against my directions at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up on Mount Hor.^{(BU) 26} Then strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar, his son; but there Aaron shall be gathered up in death.

²⁷ Moses did as the Lord commanded. When they had climbed Mount Hor in view of the whole community, ²⁸ Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain.^(BV) When Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹ all the community understood that Aaron had breathed his last; and for thirty days the whole house of Israel mourned Aaron.

Chapter 21

Victory over Arad. ¹ When the Canaanite, the king of Arad,^[bj] who ruled over the Negeb,^(BW) heard that the Israelites were coming along the way of Atharim, he engaged Israel in battle and took some of them captive. ² Israel then made this vow to the Lord: “If you deliver this people into my hand, I will put their cities under the ban.”^{(BX) 3} The Lord paid attention to Israel and delivered up the Canaanites,^(BY) and they put them and their cities under the ban. Hence that place was named Hormah.^[bk]

The Bronze Serpent. ⁴ From Mount Hor they set out by way of the Red Sea, to bypass the land of Edom, but the people’s patience was worn out by the journey; ⁵ so the people complained^(BZ) against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”^[bl]

⁶ So the Lord sent among the people seraph^[bm] serpents, which bit^(CA) the people so that many of the Israelites died. ⁷ Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, ⁸ and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole, and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover.^{[bn] 9} Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent^[bo] and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered.^(CB)

Journey Around Moab. ¹⁰ The Israelites moved on and encamped in Oboth.^{(CC) 11} Then they moved on from Oboth and encamped in Iye-abarim^[bp] in the wilderness facing Moab on the east. ¹² Moving on from there, they encamped in the Wadi Zered. ¹³ Moving on from there, they encamped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends from the territory of the Amorites; for the Arnon forms Moab’s boundary, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴ Hence it is said in the “Book of the Wars of the Lord”:^[bq]

¹⁶ From there they went to Beer,^[bs] which is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, Gather the people together so that I may give them water. ¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song:

¹⁹ From Beer to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰ from Bamoth to the valley in the country of Moab at the headland of Pisgah that overlooks Jeshimon.^[bt]

Victory over Sihon. ²¹ Now Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, with the message, ²² “Let us pass through your land. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, nor will we drink any well water, but we will go straight along the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” ²³ Sihon,^(CD) however, would not permit Israel to pass through his territory, but mustered all his forces and advanced against Israel into the wilderness. When he reached Jahaz, he engaged Israel in battle. ²⁴ But Israel put him to the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and as far as Jazer of the Ammonites, for Jazer is the boundary of the Ammonites. ^25 (CE)Israel seized all the towns here, and Israel settled in all the towns of the Amorites, in Heshbon and all its dependencies. ²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken all his land from him as far as the Arnon. ²⁷ That is why the poets say:

³¹ So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. ³² Moses sent spies to Jazer; and the Israelites captured it with its dependencies and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

Victory over Og. ^33 (CF)Then they turned and went up along the road to Bashan. But Og, king of Bashan, advanced against them with all his forces to give battle at Edrei. ³⁴ The Lord, however, said to Moses: Do not fear him; for into your hand I deliver him with all his forces and his land. You will do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.^{(CG) 35} So they struck him down with his sons and all his forces, until not a survivor was left to him, and they took possession of his land.

Chapter 22

¹ Then the Israelites moved on and encamped in the plains of Moab^[bv] on the other side of the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Balaam Summoned. ² Now Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel did to the Amorites, ³ and Moab feared the Israelites greatly because they were numerous. Moab was in dread of the Israelites. ⁴ So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will devour everything around us as an ox devours the grass of the field.” At that time Balak, son of Zippor, was king of Moab; ⁵ and he sent messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor on the river, in the land of the Ammonites,^[bw] to summon him with these words, “A people has come out of Egypt! They have covered up the earth and are settling down opposite me! ⁶ Now come, curse this people for me,^[bx] since they are stronger than I am. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed and whoever you curse is cursed.” ⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, themselves experts in divination,^[by] left and went to Balaam, to whom they gave Balak’s message. ⁸ He said to them, “Stay here overnight, and I will give you whatever answer the Lord gives me.” So the princes of Moab lodged with Balaam.

⁹ Then God came to Balaam and said: Who are these men with you? ¹⁰ Balaam answered God, “Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me the message: ¹¹ ‘This people that has come out of Egypt has covered up the earth. Now come, lay a curse on them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight them and drive them out.’” ¹² But God said to Balaam: Do not go with them and do not curse this people, for they are blessed. ¹³ The next morning Balaam arose and told the princes of Balak, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ So the princes of Moab went back to Balak with the report, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

Second Appeal to Balaam. ¹⁵ Balak yet again sent princes, who were more numerous and more distinguished than the others. ¹⁶ On coming to Balaam they told him, “Thus says Balak, son of Zippor: Please do not refuse to come to me. ¹⁷ I will reward you very handsomely and will do anything you ask of me. Come, lay a curse on this people for me.” ^18 (CH)But Balaam replied to Balak’s servants, “Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord, my God. ¹⁹ But, you too stay here overnight, so that I may learn what else the Lord may say to me.” ²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said to him: If these men have come to summon you, go back with them; yet only on the condition that you do exactly as I tell you. ²¹ So the next morning when Balaam arose, he saddled his donkey,^[bz] and went off with the princes of Moab.

The Talking Donkey. ²² But now God’s anger flared up^[ca] at him for going, and the angel of the Lord took up a position on the road as his adversary. As Balaam was riding along on his donkey, accompanied by two of his servants, ²³ the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with sword drawn. The donkey turned off the road and went into the field, and Balaam beat the donkey to bring her back on the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow lane between vineyards with a stone wall on each side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord there, she pressed against the wall; and since she squeezed Balaam’s leg against the wall, he beat her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord again went ahead, and stood next in a passage so narrow that there was no room to move either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord there, she lay down under Balaam. Balaam’s anger flared up and he beat the donkey with his stick.

^28 (CI)Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you beat me these three times?” ²⁹ “You have acted so willfully against me,” said Balaam to the donkey, “that if I only had a sword at hand, I would kill you here and now.” ³⁰ But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have always ridden until now? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way before?” “No,” he replied.

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, so that he saw the angel of the Lord standing on the road with sword drawn; and he knelt and bowed down to the ground. ³² But the angel of the Lord said to him: “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come as an adversary because this rash journey of yours is against my will. ³³ When the donkey saw me, she turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, you are the one I would have killed, though I would have spared her.” ³⁴ Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. Yet I did not know that you took up a position to oppose my journey. Since it has displeased you, I will go back home.” ³⁵ But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam: “Go with the men; but you may say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at Ar-Moab on the border formed by the Arnon, at its most distant point. ³⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send an urgent summons to you? Why did you not come to me? Did you think I could not reward you?” ³⁸ Balaam answered Balak, “Well, I have come to you after all. But what power have I to say anything? I can speak only what God puts in my mouth.” ³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ Here Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent portions to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

The First Oracle. ⁴¹ The next morning Balak took Balaam up on Bamoth-baal, and from there he could see some of the people.

Chapter 23

¹ Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and here prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ² So Balak did as Balaam had ordered, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³ Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I go over there. Perhaps the Lord will meet me, and then I will tell you whatever he lets me see.” And so he went out on the barren height. ⁴ Then God met Balaam, and Balak said to him: “I have erected the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵ The Lord put an utterance in Balaam’s mouth, and said: Go back to Balak, and speak accordingly. ⁶ So he went back to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with all the princes of Moab. ⁷ Then Balaam recited his poem:

¹¹ “What have you done to me?” cried Balak to Balaam. “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I brought you here; but instead, you have blessed them!” ¹² Balaam replied, “Is it not what the Lord puts in my mouth that I take care to repeat?”

The Second Oracle. ¹³ Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place^[ce] from which you can see them; but you will see only some, not all of them, and from there lay a curse on them for me.” ¹⁴ So he brought him to a lookout post on the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each of them. ¹⁵ Balaam then said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I seek a meeting over there.” ¹⁶ Then the Lord met Balaam, and, having put an utterance in his mouth, said to him: Return to Balak, and speak accordingly. ¹⁷ So he went to Balak, who was still standing by his burnt offering together with the princes of Moab. When Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” ¹⁸ Balaam recited his poem:

²⁵ “Neither lay a curse on them nor bless them,” said Balak to Balaam. ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Everything the Lord tells me I must do’?”

The Third Oracle. ²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me bring you to another place; perhaps God will approve of your laying a curse on them for me from there.” ²⁸ So he took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks Jeshimon. ²⁹ Balaam then said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here; and here prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰ And Balak did as Balaam had ordered, offering a bull and a ram on each altar.

Chapter 24

¹ Balaam, however, perceiving that the Lord was pleased to bless Israel, did not go aside as before to seek omens, but turned his gaze toward the wilderness. ² When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, ³ and he recited his poem:

¹⁰ In a blaze of anger at Balaam, Balak clapped his hands^[cj] and said to him, “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I summoned you here; yet three times now you have actually blessed them!^{(CO) 11} Now flee to your home. I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has withheld the reward from you!” ¹² Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not even tell the messengers whom you sent to me, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything, good or evil, contrary to the command of the Lord’? Whatever the Lord says I must say.^(CP)

The Fourth Oracle. ¹⁴ “But now that I am about to go to my own people, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” ¹⁵ Then he recited his poem:

²⁰ Upon seeing Amalek, Balaam recited his poem:

²¹ Upon seeing the Kenites,^[cm] he recited his poem:

²³ Upon seeing^[co] [the Ishmaelites?] he recited his poem:

²⁵ Then Balaam set out on his journey home; and Balak also went his way.

Chapter 25

Worship of Baal of Peor. ¹ While Israel was living at Shittim,^[cp] the people profaned themselves by prostituting themselves with the Moabite women.^{(CS) 2} These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices^(CT) and bowed down to their god. ³ Israel thereby attached itself to the Baal of Peor,^(CU) and the Lord’s anger flared up against Israel. ^4 (CV)The Lord said to Moses: Gather all the leaders of the people, and publicly execute them^[cq] before the Lord, that the blazing wrath of the Lord may turn away from Israel. ⁵ So Moses told the Israelite judges, “Each of you kill those of his men who have attached themselves to the Baal of Peor.”^[cr]

Zeal of Phinehas. ⁶ At this a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman^[cs] to his kindred in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (CW)When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose up from the assembly, and taking a spear in his hand, ⁸ followed the Israelite into the tent where he pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the plague upon the Israelites was checked; ⁹ but the dead from the plague were twenty-four thousand.

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses: ¹¹ Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger from the Israelites by his being as jealous among them as I am; that is why I did not put an end to the Israelites in my jealousy.^{[ct] 12 (CX)}Announce, therefore, that I hereby give him my covenant of peace,^{[cu] 13} which shall be for him and for his descendants after him the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous on behalf of his God and thus made expiation for the Israelites.

^14 [cv]The name of the slain Israelite, the one slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, prince of a Simeonite ancestral house. ¹⁵ The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was head of a clan, an ancestral house, in Midian.

Vengeance on the Midianites. ^16 [cw]The Lord then said to Moses: ^17 (CY)Treat the Midianites as enemies and strike them, ¹⁸ for they have been your enemies by the deceitful dealings they had with you regarding Peor and their kinswoman Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite prince, who was slain at the time of the plague because of Peor.