Balaam’s First Message

23 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams(A) for me.” Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(B)

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me.(C) Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

God met with him,(D) and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth(E) and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”(F)

So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.(G) Then Balaam(H) spoke his message:(I)

“Balak brought me from Aram,(J)
    the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.(K)
‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
    come, denounce Israel.’(L)
How can I curse
    those whom God has not cursed?(M)
How can I denounce
    those whom the Lord has not denounced?(N)
From the rocky peaks I see them,
    from the heights I view them.(O)
I see a people who live apart
    and do not consider themselves one of the nations.(P)
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob(Q)
    or number even a fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,(R)
    and may my final end be like theirs!(S)

11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies,(T) but you have done nothing but bless them!”(U)

12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”(V)

Balaam’s Second Message

13 Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place(W) where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp.(X) And from there, curse them for me.(Y) 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah,(Z) and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(AA)

15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth(AB) and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials.(AC) Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

18 Then he spoke his message:(AD)

“Arise, Balak, and listen;
    hear me, son of Zippor.(AE)
19 God is not human,(AF) that he should lie,(AG)
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.(AH)
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise(AI) and not fulfill?
20 I have received a command to bless;(AJ)
    he has blessed,(AK) and I cannot change it.(AL)

21 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob,(AM)
    no misery observed[a] in Israel.(AN)
The Lord their God is with them;(AO)
    the shout of the King(AP) is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;(AQ)
    they have the strength of a wild ox.(AR)
23 There is no divination against[b] Jacob,
    no evil omens(AS) against[c] Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
    and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’
24 The people rise like a lioness;(AT)
    they rouse themselves like a lion(AU)
that does not rest till it devours its prey
    and drinks the blood(AV) of its victims.”

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

26 Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?”(AW)

Balaam’s Third Message

27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place.(AX) Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me(AY) from there.” 28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor,(AZ) overlooking the wasteland.

29 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(BA)

24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,(BB) he did not resort to divination(BC) as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness.(BD) When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him(BE) and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
    the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,(BF)
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,(BG)
    who sees a vision from the Almighty,[d](BH)
    who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

“How beautiful are your tents,(BI) Jacob,
    your dwelling places, Israel!

“Like valleys they spread out,
    like gardens beside a river,(BJ)
like aloes(BK) planted by the Lord,
    like cedars beside the waters.(BL)
Water will flow from their buckets;
    their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;(BM)
    their kingdom will be exalted.(BN)

“God brought them out of Egypt;
    they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
    and break their bones in pieces;(BO)
    with their arrows they pierce them.(BP)
Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
    like a lioness(BQ)—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed(BR)
    and those who curse you be cursed!”(BS)

10 Then Balak’s anger burned(BT) against Balaam. He struck his hands together(BU) and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies,(BV) but you have blessed them(BW) these three times.(BX) 11 Now leave at once and go home!(BY) I said I would reward you handsomely,(BZ) but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

12 Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,(CA) 13 ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord(CB)—and I must say only what the Lord says’?(CC) 14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”(CD)

Balaam’s Fourth Message

15 Then he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
    the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
16 the prophecy of one who hears the words(CE) of God,
    who has knowledge from the Most High,(CF)
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
    who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

17 “I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.(CG)
A star will come out of Jacob;(CH)
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.(CI)
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,(CJ)
    the skulls[e](CK) of[f] all the people of Sheth.[g]
18 Edom(CL) will be conquered;
    Seir,(CM) his enemy, will be conquered,(CN)
    but Israel(CO) will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob(CP)
    and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

20 Then Balaam saw Amalek(CQ) and spoke his message:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
    but their end will be utter destruction.”(CR)

Balaam’s Sixth Message

21 Then he saw the Kenites(CS) and spoke his message:

“Your dwelling place is secure,(CT)
    your nest is set in a rock;
22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed
    when Ashur(CU) takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

23 Then he spoke his message:

“Alas! Who can live when God does this?[h]
24     Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;(CV)
they will subdue Ashur(CW) and Eber,(CX)
    but they too will come to ruin.(CY)

25 Then Balaam(CZ) got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.

Moab Seduces Israel

25 While Israel was staying in Shittim,(DA) the men began to indulge in sexual immorality(DB) with Moabite(DC) women,(DD) who invited them to the sacrifices(DE) to their gods.(DF) The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to(DG) the Baal of Peor.(DH) And the Lord’s anger burned against them.

The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders(DI) of these people, kill them and expose(DJ) them in broad daylight before the Lord,(DK) so that the Lord’s fierce anger(DL) may turn away from Israel.”

So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death(DM) those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”(DN)

Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite(DO) woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping(DP) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Phinehas(DQ) son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear(DR) in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;(DS) but those who died in the plague(DT) numbered 24,000.(DU)

10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites.(DV) Since he was as zealous for my honor(DW) among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace(DX) with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,(DY) because he was zealous(DZ) for the honor(EA) of his God and made atonement(EB) for the Israelites.”(EC)

14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman(ED) was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.(EE) 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi(EF) daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.(EG)

16 The Lord said to Moses,(EH) 17 “Treat the Midianites(EI) as enemies(EJ) and kill them.(EK) 18 They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident(EL) involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 23:21 Or He has not looked on Jacob’s offenses / or on the wrongs found
  2. Numbers 23:23 Or in
  3. Numbers 23:23 Or in
  4. Numbers 24:4 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 16
  5. Numbers 24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  6. Numbers 24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter
  7. Numbers 24:17 Or all the noisy boasters
  8. Numbers 24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.

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

And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.

And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.

And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.

And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?

For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.

12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?

13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.

14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.

16 And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.

17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken?

18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!

24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

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

26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?

27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.

28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward jeshimon.

29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.

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

24 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

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

And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!

As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.

He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.

He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.

11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.

12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,

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

14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.

15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.

18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.

19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.

23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!

24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.

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

25 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.

And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.

And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;

And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

10 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:

13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.

15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.

16 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

17 Vex the Midianites, and smite them:

18 For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] [a]

17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him(A) about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods(B) clean.)(C)

20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed,(D) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith(E)

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.[b](F) He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit(G) came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man(H)

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre(I) and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee(J) and into the region of the Decapolis.[c](K) 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk,(L) and they begged Jesus to place his hand on(M) him.

33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit(N) and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven(O) and with a deep sigh(P) said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.(Q)

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.(R) But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts include here the words of 4:23.
  2. Mark 7:24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon
  3. Mark 7:31 That is, the Ten Cities

14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

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