Numbers 22-25

EasyEnglish Bible

King Balak asks Balaam to help him

22 The Israelites travelled to Moab. They lived in tents at the side of the Jordan River. Jericho city was on the other side of the river.

² The king of Moab at that time was Balak, the son of Zippor. He had seen what the Israelites did to the Amorites. ³ The people in Moab were afraid because there were so many Israelites. All the people in Moab became very afraid of the Israelites.

⁴ So the Moabites said to the leaders of the Midianites, ‘This large group of people will destroy everything round us. They will be like a bull that eats all the grass in a field!’

So Balak, the king of Moab, ⁵ sent men to get Balaam, the son of Beor. Balaam was living near the Euphrates river at Pethor. Balak told the men to say to Balaam, ‘A large group of people has come here from Egypt. They cover all the ground, everywhere. They have put up their tents near our land. ⁶ They are more powerful than I am. Come here and put a curse on them. If you do that, maybe I will win against them. Then I can chase them away from our land. I know that you have the authority to bless people or to curse them.’

⁷ The leaders of Moab and Midian went to find Balaam. They took the money to pay for Balaam's work. When they found him, they told him what Balak had said. ⁸ Balaam said to them, ‘Stay here tonight. I will talk to the Lord. Tomorrow, I will tell you his answer.’ So the Moabite officers stayed with Balaam.

⁹ Then God came to Balaam and he asked, ‘Who are these men who are staying with you?’

¹⁰ Balaam said to God, ‘Zippor's son Balak, the king of Moab, has sent a message to me. ¹¹ He said, “A big group of people has come from Egypt and they cover all the ground. So please come and curse them for me. Then perhaps I will be able to fight them and send them away.” ’

¹² God said to Balaam, ‘Do not agree to go with them. You must not curse those people. They are special people. I have blessed them.’

¹³ The next day, Balaam said to the officers from Moab, ‘Go back to Moab. The Lord told me that I should not go with you.’ ¹⁴ So the officers went back to Moab. They told King Balak that Balaam would not come with them.

¹⁵ Then Balak sent other officers to speak to Balaam. These officers were even more important than the first group, and there were more of them. ¹⁶ They said to Balaam, ‘King Balak says, “Do not let anything stop you from coming to me. ¹⁷ I will certainly make you rich and famous. I will do for you anything that you want. So please come and curse these people for me.” ’

¹⁸ Balaam said to them, ‘No, I will only do what the Lord tells me. I can do no more than that, and no less. Even if Balak gives me his house, all his gold and all his silver, I will only do what the Lord says. ¹⁹ Stay here tonight, as the other men did. I will talk to the Lord and see if he has anything more to tell me.’

²⁰ That night, God said to Balaam, ‘These men have asked you to go with them, so go with them. But only do what I tell you.’

Balaam and his donkey

²¹ In the morning, Balaam prepared his donkey to travel. He went with the officers to Moab. ²² God was angry because Balaam went with the men. The angel of the Lord stood on the road to stop Balaam. Balaam was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. ²³ The angel of the Lord was holding a sword. When the donkey saw the angel, it tried to leave the road and go into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to make it go back to the road.

²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood on the road between two vineyards. The path was narrow there, with a wall on each side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pushed against the wall. Balaam's foot became fixed between the donkey and the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.

²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord moved on. He stood in a very narrow place where there was no space to turn round. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord it lay down on the ground. Balaam was still sitting on the donkey and he became very angry. He hit the donkey with his stick. ²⁸ Then the Lord caused the donkey to speak. It said, ‘What have I done to hurt you? Why have you hit me three times like that?’

²⁹ Balaam said to the donkey, ‘You have made me look silly. If I had a sword in my hand now, I would kill you.’

³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, ‘I am your own donkey that you ride every day. Do I usually do things like this to you?’ Balaam said, ‘No.’

³¹ Then the Lord let Balaam see the angel of the Lord. He could see that the angel stood there with a sword in his hand. Balaam lay down with his face down towards the ground.

³² The angel of the Lord said to him, ‘You should not have hit your donkey like that! I have come here to stop you because you refuse to obey me. ³³ Three times the donkey saw me and turned back. If it had not done that, I would have killed you. But I would not have killed your donkey.’

³⁴ Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, ‘I have done a wrong thing. I did not realize that you were standing in the road to stop me. If you do not want me to continue, I will return to my home.’ ³⁵ But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, ‘Go with the men. But you must say only the words that I will tell you.’ So Balaam went with Balak's officers.

³⁶ Balak heard the news that Balaam was coming. He went out to meet Balaam at the border of Moab's land. The town was beside the river Arnon. ³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, ‘You should have come the first time that I sent men to get you. Why did you not come? Did you think that I could not pay you with enough good things?’

³⁸ Balaam said to Balak, ‘Anyway, I have come to you now! But I cannot choose to say anything. I can only say the words that God tells me to speak.’

³⁹ Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-Huzoth. ⁴⁰ When they arrived there, Balak killed bulls and sheep as a sacrifice. He sent some of the meat to Balaam and the officers who were with him. ⁴¹ The next day, Balak took Balaam to Bamoth-Baal. From there, Balaam could see some of the big group of the Israelites.

Balaam's first message from God

23 Balaam said to King Balak, ‘Build seven altars here for me. Prepare seven bulls and seven male sheep.’ ² Balak did this. Balaam and Balak then offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar as a sacrifice.

³ Then Balaam said to Balak, ‘Stand next to your burnt offering. I will go to see if the Lord will come to meet me. If he shows something to me, I will tell you about it.’ Then Balaam went to the top of a hill where there were no trees.

⁴ Balaam said to the Lord, ‘I made seven altars. On each altar, I have offered a bull and a male sheep.’

⁵ God told Balaam the message that he should speak to Balak.

⁶ So Balaam returned to Balak. Balak was still standing by his burnt offering with all the Moabite officers.

⁷ Then Balaam started to speak his message from God. He said, ‘Balak, the king of Moab, has brought me from Syria. He brought me from the mountains in the east. He said “Come and curse Jacob's descendants for me. Say bad things against the Israelites!”

⁸ But I cannot curse these people, because God has not cursed them. I cannot speak against people that the Lord does not speak against.

⁹ When I stand on the rocks, I can see the Israelites. I can watch them from the hills. They are people who are separate from other nations.

¹⁰ Nobody can count Jacob's descendants. They are as many as the dust on the ground! It would be too difficult to count even a quarter of the Israelites. I would like to die in peace like those righteous people!’

¹¹ Balak said to Balaam, ‘You have not done what I wanted you to do! I brought you here to curse my enemies. But you have blessed them!’

¹² Balaam answered, ‘I can only speak the message that the Lord has told me.’

Balaam's second message from God

¹³ Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘Please come with me to another place where you can see the Israelites. You will not see all of them from there. Then curse those people for me.’

¹⁴ Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim. It was at the top of Pisgah mountain. Balak built seven altars there. He offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar as sacrifices.

¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, ‘Stay here beside your burnt offering. I will go to meet with the Lord.’

¹⁶ The Lord met Balaam and told him the message that he should speak to Balak. He told Balaam to go and tell it to Balak. ¹⁷ So Balaam went back to Balak. Balak and the Moabite officers were standing beside the burnt offerings. Balak asked Balaam, ‘What did the Lord say?’

¹⁸ Balaam spoke his message from God. He said, ‘Balak, son of Zippor, be ready! Listen carefully to me.

¹⁹ God is not human. He does not tell lies. He does not change his thoughts. If he promises to do something, it happens. ²⁰ He told me that I must bless the Israelites. He has blessed them, so I must do it too.

²¹ I do not see that any trouble will come to the Israelites. The Lord their God is with them, to help them. They call him their king. ²² He brought them out of Egypt. He fights on their behalf, as strong as a wild bull.

²³ Nobody can curse the Israelites. No magic has any power to hurt them. Now people will say about them, “See the great things that God has done for them!” ²⁴ The Israelites are like a strong lion. It eats the animals that it has killed. It does not rest until it has eaten as much as it wants. It also drinks their blood.’

²⁵ Balak said to Balaam, ‘You do not have to curse the Israelites, but please do not bless them!’ ²⁶ Balaam replied, ‘I already told you, “I must do everything that the Lord tells me.” ’

²⁷ Balak said to Balaam, ‘Let me take you to a different place. Perhaps God will let you curse the Israelites from that place.’ ²⁸ Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor mountain. From there they could look over the desert. ²⁹ Balaam said, ‘Build seven altars here. Prepare seven bulls and seven male sheep as sacrifices.’ ³⁰ Balak did that. He offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar as sacrifices.

Balaam's third message from God

24 Balaam realized that the Lord wanted to bless the Israelites. So he did not use magic again to find out what the Lord wanted him to do. Instead, he looked towards the desert. ² When he looked, he saw the Israelite people. They had put up their tents in groups for each tribe. Then the Spirit of God came on him. ³ As a result, Balaam said, ‘This is God's message that he has given to Balaam, the son of Beor. It is the words of a man who understands what God is saying. ⁴ It is the message of a man who hears God's words. I am a man who sees a vision that God Almighty has shown to him. I lie down on the ground, but my eyes are open! I see this:

⁵ The tents where the Israelites live are beautiful! ⁶ They are like green gardens in a valley beside a river. They are like tall trees that the Lord has put there. They are like cedar trees that grow beside water.

⁷ God will give them plenty of rain. Their descendants will always have plenty of water. Their king will be more powerful than Agag. Their kingdom will be great.

⁸ God brought them out of Egypt. God fights for them like a wild bull. He will destroy the nations who are their enemies. He will break their enemies' bones into pieces. He will shoot his arrows at them.

⁹ The Israelites are like a lion. When it is asleep, nobody is brave enough to wake it. God blesses those who bless you, Israel. And those who curse you are truly cursed.’

¹⁰ When Balaam said that, Balak became very angry with him. He hit his hands together and he said to Balaam, ‘I asked you to come here and to curse my enemies, the Israelites. But you have blessed them three times! ¹¹ So go home now. I said that I would pay you very well. But the Lord has stopped me from giving you anything.’

¹² Balaam said to Balak, ‘I already said this to the men that you sent to bring me. ¹³ I told them, “I can only speak the message that the Lord tells me. I cannot do good things or bad things just because I want to do them. Even if Balak gives his palace full of silver and gold to me, I cannot do anything different. I have to obey the Lord's command.” ¹⁴ So I will now return to my own people. But listen! Before I go, I will tell you what these Israelites will do to your people in the future.’

Balaam's fourth message from God

¹⁵ Then Balaam spoke this message from God. He said, ‘This is the message of Balaam, the son of Beor. It is the message of a man who sees clearly. ¹⁶ It is the message of a man who hears God's words. The Most High God has shown me things that only he knows. I am a man who sees a vision that God Almighty has shown to him. I lie down on the ground, but my eyes are open! I see this:

¹⁷ I see a king who will come from among the Israelites. He will not come now, but at a future time. He will appear as king, like a bright star. He will knock down the leaders of Moab. He will destroy the descendants of Sheth.^{[a] 18} He will win against his enemies in Edom and Seir. The Israelites will become stronger.

¹⁹ A descendant of Jacob will become their ruler. He will destroy all the people who are still alive in the city.’

Balaam's final messages from God

²⁰ Then, in his vision, Balaam saw the Amalekites. He said, ‘Amalek was the most powerful of all the nations. God will destroy it now and for ever.’ ²¹ Then Balaam saw the Kenites. He spoke this message: ‘The place where you live seems strong and safe, high up among the rocks. ²² But Assyria's army will attack you. They will take you away as prisoners.’

²³ Then Balaam spoke this message: ‘It is very bad for you! Nobody can live when God does these things! ²⁴ Ships will come from the coast of Cyprus island. Their soldiers will attack Assyria and Eber. Then God will destroy them too.’

²⁵ After he spoke those messages, Balaam returned to his home. King Balak also left that place.

The Israelites worship false gods

25 The Israelites were staying in Shittim. The men began to have sex with the women from Moab. ² The women from Moab took Israelite men to watch them as they offered sacrifices to the gods of Moab. The Israelite men joined with the Moabite women to eat at their feasts. They also worshipped the gods of Moab. ³ The Israelites joined the Moabite women to worship their god, Baal of Peor. So the Lord became very angry with them.

⁴ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take hold of all the leaders of these people. Hang them up during the day so that they die and people see them. Do what I tell you, so that I will no longer be angry against the Israelites.’

⁵ Moses told the officers of the Israelites, ‘Each of you, kill the men who have worshipped the god, Baal of Peor.’

⁶ Moses and all the people were at the door of the Tent of Meeting. They were weeping. While they were there, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into his tent. Moses and all the people could see them. ⁷ Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw what happened. So he stood up among all the people and he took a spear in his hand. ⁸ He went into the man's tent. He pushed the spear through the body of the man and the Midianite woman. When he did that, the bad disease that was killing the Israelites stopped. ⁹ But 24,000 people had already died as a result of the disease.

¹⁰ The Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ ‘I am no longer angry with the Israelites. That is because of what Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, did. He did not want the people to worship any god except me. Because of him, I did not kill all the Israelites. ¹² So you must tell him that I have promised that my peace will be with him. ¹³ That promise will be for him and for his descendants after him. They will always be priests. That is because he did not want the people to worship any god except me. He has removed the sin of the Israelites so that I could forgive them.’

¹⁴ The name of the man that Phinehas killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri. He was the son of Salu. Salu was the leader of a clan from the tribe of Simeon. ¹⁵ The name of the Midianite woman was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur. Zur was a leader of a Midianite clan.

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ ‘Attack the Midianites and destroy them. ¹⁸ They have deceived you and they have become your enemies. They took some of you to worship their god Peor. They used Cozbi to make you do a wrong thing, and she was the daughter of a Midianite leader. Phinehas killed her on the day when the bad disease killed many Israelites at Peor mountain.’