Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now the LORD said to Moses,

²“Make two trumpets of hammered silver for calling the community to assemble and for signaling the breaking of camp.

³When both trumpets are blown, everyone must gather before you at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

⁴But if only one trumpet is blown, then only the leaders — the heads of the clans of Israel — must present themselves to you.

⁵“When you sound the signal to move on, the tribes camped on the east side of the Tabernacle must break camp and move forward.

⁶When you sound the signal a second time, the tribes camped on the south will follow. You must sound short blasts as the signal for moving on.

⁷But when you call the people to an assembly, blow the trumpets with a different signal.

⁸Only the priests, Aaron’s descendants, are allowed to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.

⁹“When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the LORD your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies.

¹⁰Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind your God of his covenant with you. I am the LORD your God.”

¹¹In the second year after Israel’s departure from Egypt — on the twentieth day of the second month — the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

¹²So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran.

¹³When the people set out for the first time, following the instructions the LORD had given through Moses,

¹⁴Judah’s troops led the way. They marched behind their banner, and their leader was Nahshon son of Amminadab.

¹⁵They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Issachar, led by Nethanel son of Zuar,

¹⁶and the troops of the tribe of Zebulun, led by Eliab son of Helon.

¹⁷Then the Tabernacle was taken down, and the Gershonite and Merarite divisions of the Levites were next in the line of march, carrying the Tabernacle with them.

¹⁸Reuben’s troops went next, marching behind their banner. Their leader was Elizur son of Shedeur.

¹⁹They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Simeon, led by Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai,

²⁰and the troops of the tribe of Gad, led by Eliasaph son of Deuel.

²¹Next came the Kohathite division of the Levites, carrying the sacred objects from the Tabernacle. Before they arrived at the next camp, the Tabernacle would already be set up at its new location.

²²Ephraim’s troops went next, marching behind their banner. Their leader was Elishama son of Ammihud.

²³They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Manasseh, led by Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,

²⁴and the troops of the tribe of Benjamin, led by Abidan son of Gideoni.

²⁵Dan’s troops went last, marching behind their banner and serving as the rear guard for all the tribal camps. Their leader was Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

²⁶They were joined by the troops of the tribe of Asher, led by Pagiel son of Ocran,

²⁷and the troops of the tribe of Naphtali, led by Ahira son of Enan.

²⁸This was the order in which the Israelites marched, division by division.

²⁹One day Moses said to his brother-in-law, Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, “We are on our way to the place the LORD promised us, for he said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised wonderful blessings for Israel!”

³⁰But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go. I must return to my own land and family.”

³¹“Please don’t leave us,” Moses pleaded. “You know the places in the wilderness where we should camp. Come, be our guide.

³²If you do, we’ll share with you all the blessings the LORD gives us.”

³³They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest.

³⁴As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them.

³⁵And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!”

³⁶And when the Ark was set down, he would say, “Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel!”

¹Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp.

²Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped.

³After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means “the place of burning”), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there.

⁴Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed.

⁵“We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.

⁶But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”

⁷The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin.

⁸The people would go out and gather it from the ground. They made flour by grinding it with hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes. These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive oil.

⁹The manna came down on the camp with the dew during the night.

¹⁰Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the LORD became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated.

¹¹And Moses said to the LORD, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people?

¹²Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors?

¹³Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

¹⁴I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy!

¹⁵If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

¹⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you.

¹⁷I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.

¹⁸“And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the LORD heard you when you cried, “Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will have to eat it.

¹⁹And it won’t be for just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty.

²⁰You will eat it for a whole month until you gag and are sick of it. For you have rejected the LORD, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

²¹But Moses responded to the LORD, “There are 600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’

²²Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds, would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”

²³Then the LORD said to Moses, “Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!”

²⁴So Moses went out and reported the LORD’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle.

²⁵And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.

²⁶Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp.

²⁷A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

²⁸Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!”

²⁹But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!”

³⁰Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel.

³¹Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall all around the camp. For miles in every direction there were quail flying about three feet above the ground.

³²So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels ! They spread the quail all around the camp to dry.

³³But while they were gorging themselves on the meat — while it was still in their mouths — the anger of the LORD blazed against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.

³⁴So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah (which means “graves of gluttony”) because there they buried the people who had craved meat from Egypt.

³⁵From Kibroth-hattaavah the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.

¹While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman.

²They said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the LORD heard them.

³(Now Moses was very humble — more humble than any other person on earth.)

⁴So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle.

⁵Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward.

⁶And the LORD said to them, “Now listen to what I say: “If there were prophets among you, I, the LORD, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams.

⁷But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust.

⁸I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?”

⁹The LORD was very angry with them, and he departed.

¹⁰As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened to her,

¹¹he cried out to Moses, “Oh, my master! Please don’t punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed.

¹²Don’t let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth.”

¹³So Moses cried out to the LORD, “O God, I beg you, please heal her!”

¹⁴But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had done nothing more than spit in her face, wouldn’t she be defiled for seven days? So keep her outside the camp for seven days, and after that she may be accepted back.”

¹⁵So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again.

¹⁶Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

¹The LORD now said to Moses,

²“Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.”

³So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.

⁴These were the tribes and the names of their leaders: Tribe — Leader Reuben — Shammua son of Zaccur

⁵Simeon — Shaphat son of Hori

⁶Judah — Caleb son of Jephunneh

⁷Issachar — Igal son of Joseph

⁸Ephraim — Hoshea son of Nun

⁹Benjamin — Palti son of Raphu

¹⁰Zebulun — Gaddiel son of Sodi

¹¹Manasseh son of Joseph — Gaddi son of Susi

¹²Dan — Ammiel son of Gemalli

¹³Asher — Sethur son of Michael

¹⁴Naphtali — Nahbi son of Vophsi

¹⁵Gad — Geuel son of Maki

¹⁶These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)

¹⁷Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country.

¹⁸See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.

¹⁹See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps?

²⁰Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)

²¹So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.

²²Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai — all descendants of Anak — lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)

²³When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.

²⁴That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

²⁵After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned

²⁶to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.

²⁷This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country — a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.

²⁸But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

²⁹The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.”

³⁰But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”

³¹But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”

³²So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge.

³³We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

¹Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.

²Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.

³“Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”

⁴Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel.

⁶Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing.

⁷They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land!

⁸And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey.

⁹Do not rebel against the LORD, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

¹⁰But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle.

¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?

¹²I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”

¹³But Moses objected. “What will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?” he asked the LORD. “They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing your people from Egypt.

¹⁴Now if you destroy them, the Egyptians will send a report to the inhabitants of this land, who have already heard that you live among your people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared to your people face to face and that your pillar of cloud hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

¹⁵Now if you slaughter all these people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will say,

¹⁶‘The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷“Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed. For you said,

¹⁸‘The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected — even children in the third and fourth generations.’

¹⁹In keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

²⁰Then the LORD said, “I will pardon them as you have requested.

²¹But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory,

²²not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.

²³They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.

²⁴But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land.

²⁵Now turn around, and don’t go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea. ”

²⁶Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²⁷“How long must I put up with this wicked community and its complaints about me? Yes, I have heard the complaints the Israelites are making against me.

²⁸Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say.

²⁹You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die.

³⁰You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

³¹“‘You said your children would be carried off as plunder. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised.

³²But as for you, you will drop dead in this wilderness.

³³And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness for forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness.

³⁴“‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years — a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’

³⁵I, the LORD, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”

³⁶The ten men Moses had sent to explore the land — the ones who incited rebellion against the LORD with their bad report —

³⁷were struck dead with a plague before the LORD.

³⁸Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.

³⁹When Moses reported the LORD’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief.

⁴⁰Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us.”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the LORD’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work.

⁴²Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you.

⁴³When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD.”

⁴⁴But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant left the camp.

⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them back as far as Hormah.

¹Then the LORD told Moses,

²“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “When you finally settle in the land I am giving you,

³you will offer special gifts as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. These gifts may take the form of a burnt offering, a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, a voluntary offering, or an offering at any of your annual festivals, and they may be taken from your herds of cattle or your flocks of sheep and goats.

⁴When you present these offerings, you must also give the LORD a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of olive oil.

⁵For each lamb offered as a burnt offering or a special sacrifice, you must also present one quart of wine as a liquid offering.

⁶“If the sacrifice is a ram, give a grain offering of four quarts of choice flour mixed with a third of a gallon of olive oil,

⁷and give a third of a gallon of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

⁸“When you present a young bull as a burnt offering or as a sacrifice to fulfill a vow or as a peace offering to the LORD,

⁹you must also give a grain offering of six quarts of choice flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil,

¹⁰and give two quarts of wine as a liquid offering. This will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹¹“Each sacrifice of a bull, ram, lamb, or young goat should be prepared in this way.

¹²Follow these instructions with each offering you present.

¹³All of you native-born Israelites must follow these instructions when you offer a special gift as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁴And if any foreigners visit you or live among you and want to present a special gift as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, they must follow these same procedures.

¹⁵Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the LORD and are subject to the same decrees. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.

¹⁶The same instructions and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigners living among you.”

¹⁷Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹⁸“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “When you arrive in the land where I am taking you,

¹⁹and you eat the crops that grow there, you must set some aside as a sacred offering to the LORD.

²⁰Present a cake from the first of the flour you grind, and set it aside as a sacred offering, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor.

²¹Throughout the generations to come, you are to present a sacred offering to the LORD each year from the first of your ground flour.

²²“But suppose you unintentionally fail to carry out all these commands that the LORD has given you through Moses.

²³And suppose your descendants in the future fail to do everything the LORD has commanded through Moses.

²⁴If the mistake was made unintentionally, and the community was unaware of it, the whole community must present a young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. It must be offered along with its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering and with one male goat for a sin offering.

²⁵With it the priest will purify the whole community of Israel, making them right with the LORD, and they will be forgiven. For it was an unintentional sin, and they have corrected it with their offerings to the LORD — the special gift and the sin offering.

²⁶The whole community of Israel will be forgiven, including the foreigners living among you, for all the people were involved in the sin.

²⁷“If one individual commits an unintentional sin, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering.

²⁸The priest will sacrifice it to purify the guilty person before the LORD, and that person will be forgiven.

²⁹These same instructions apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

³⁰“But those who brazenly violate the LORD’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the LORD, and they must be cut off from the community.

³¹Since they have treated the LORD’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”

³²One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they discovered a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

³³The people who found him doing this took him before Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the community.

³⁴They held him in custody because they did not know what to do with him.

³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must be put to death! The whole community must stone him outside the camp.”

³⁶So the whole community took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

³⁷Then the LORD said to Moses,

³⁸“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: Throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach them with a blue cord.

³⁹When you see the tassels, you will remember and obey all the commands of the LORD instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do.

⁴⁰The tassels will help you remember that you must obey all my commands and be holy to your God.

⁴¹I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God. I am the LORD your God!”

¹One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben.

²They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly.

³They united against Moses and Aaron and said, “You have gone too far! The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD’s people?”

⁴When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.

⁵Then he said to Korah and his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.

⁶Korah, you and all your followers must prepare your incense burners.

⁷Light fires in them tomorrow, and burn incense before the LORD. Then we will see whom the LORD chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!”

⁸Then Moses spoke again to Korah: “Now listen, you Levites!

⁹Does it seem insignificant to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the community of Israel to be near him so you can serve in the LORD’s Tabernacle and stand before the people to minister to them?

¹⁰Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well?

¹¹The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?”

¹²Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, “We refuse to come before you!

¹³Isn’t it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects?

¹⁴What’s more, you haven’t brought us into another land flowing with milk and honey. You haven’t given us a new homeland with fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool these men? We will not come.”

¹⁵Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.”

¹⁶And Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must come here tomorrow and present yourselves before the LORD. Aaron will also be here.

¹⁷You and each of your 250 followers must prepare an incense burner and put incense on it, so you can all present them before the LORD. Aaron will also bring his incense burner.”

¹⁸So each of these men prepared an incense burner, lit the fire, and placed incense on it. Then they all stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle with Moses and Aaron.

¹⁹Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all gathered at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community,

²⁰and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²¹“Get away from all these people so that I may instantly destroy them!”

²²But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. “O God,” they pleaded, “you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?”

²³And the LORD said to Moses,

²⁴“Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

²⁵So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed by the elders of Israel.

²⁶“Quick!” he told the people. “Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don’t touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins.”

²⁷So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents, together with their wives and children and little ones.

²⁸And Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things that I have done — for I have not done them on my own.

²⁹If these men die a natural death, or if nothing unusual happens, then the LORD has not sent me.

³⁰But if the LORD does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the LORD.”

³¹He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them.

³²The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the men, along with their households and all their followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned.

³³So they went down alive into the grave, along with all their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished from among the people of Israel.

³⁴All the people around them fled when they heard their screams. “The earth will swallow us, too!” they cried.

³⁵Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.

³⁶And the LORD said to Moses,

³⁷“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning coals.

³⁸Take the incense burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and hammer the metal into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. Since these burners were used in the LORD’s presence, they have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel.”

³⁹So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar.

⁴⁰This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person — no one who was not a descendant of Aaron — should ever enter the LORD’s presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the LORD’s instructions to Moses were carried out.

⁴¹But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”

⁴²As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared.

⁴³Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle,

⁴⁴and the LORD said to Moses,

⁴⁵“Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

⁴⁶And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the LORD. The LORD’s anger is blazing against them — the plague has already begun.”

⁴⁷Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague had already begun to strike down the people, but Aaron burned the incense and purified the people.

⁴⁸He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague stopped.

⁴⁹But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the affair involving Korah.

⁵⁰Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Tell the people of Israel to bring you twelve wooden staffs, one from each leader of Israel’s ancestral tribes, and inscribe each leader’s name on his staff.

³Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe.

⁴Place these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark containing the tablets of the Covenant, where I meet with you.

⁵Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”

⁶So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff.

⁷Moses placed the staffs in the LORD’s presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

⁸When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron’s staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds!

⁹When Moses brought all the staffs out from the LORD’s presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff.

¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.”

¹¹So Moses did as the LORD commanded him.

¹²Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined!

¹³Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the LORD dies. Are we all doomed to die?”

¹Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You, your sons, and your relatives from the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held responsible for violations connected with the priesthood.

²“Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi — your ancestral tribe — to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

³But as the Levites go about all their assigned duties at the Tabernacle, they must be careful not to go near any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die.

⁴The Levites must join you in fulfilling their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle, but no unauthorized person may assist you.

⁵“You yourselves must perform the sacred duties inside the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the LORD’s anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel.

⁶I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD for service in the Tabernacle.

⁷But you and your sons, the priests, must personally handle all the priestly rituals associated with the altar and with everything behind the inner curtain. I am giving you the priesthood as your special privilege of service. Any unauthorized person who comes too near the sanctuary will be put to death.”

⁸The LORD gave these further instructions to Aaron: “I myself have put you in charge of all the holy offerings that are brought to me by the people of Israel. I have given all these consecrated offerings to you and your sons as your permanent share.

⁹You are allotted the portion of the most holy offerings that is not burned on the fire. This portion of all the most holy offerings — including the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings — will be most holy, and it belongs to you and your sons.

¹⁰You must eat it as a most holy offering. All the males may eat of it, and you must treat it as most holy.

¹¹“All the sacred offerings and special offerings presented to me when the Israelites lift them up before the altar also belong to you. I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters as your permanent share. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat of these offerings.

¹²“I also give you the harvest gifts brought by the people as offerings to the LORD — the best of the olive oil, new wine, and grain.

¹³All the first crops of their land that the people present to the LORD belong to you. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat this food.

¹⁴“Everything in Israel that is specially set apart for the LORD also belongs to you.

¹⁵“The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the LORD will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals.

¹⁶Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs).

¹⁷“However, you may not redeem the firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for the LORD. Sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

¹⁸The meat of these animals will be yours, just like the breast and right thigh that are presented by lifting them up as a special offering before the altar.

¹⁹Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the LORD. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant between the LORD and you, and it also applies to your descendants.”

²⁰And the LORD said to Aaron, “You priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your allotment.

²¹As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.

²²“From now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will die.

²³Only the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will receive no allotment of land among the Israelites,

²⁴because I have given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the LORD. This will be the Levites’ share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites.”

²⁵The LORD also told Moses,

²⁶“Give these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the tithes you receive — a tithe of the tithe — to the LORD as a sacred offering.

²⁷The LORD will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress.

²⁸You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the LORD. This is the LORD’s sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest.

²⁹Be sure to give to the LORD the best portions of the gifts given to you.

³⁰“Also, give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress.

³¹You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle.

³²You will not be considered guilty for accepting the LORD’s tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die.”

¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²“Here is another legal requirement commanded by the LORD: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer, a perfect animal that has no defects and has never been yoked to a plow.

³Give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.

⁴Eleazar will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle.

⁵As Eleazar watches, the heifer must be burned — its hide, meat, blood, and dung.

⁶Eleazar the priest must then take a stick of cedar, a hyssop branch, and some scarlet yarn and throw them into the fire where the heifer is burning.

⁷“Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Afterward he may return to the camp, though he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening.

⁸The man who burns the animal must also wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he, too, will remain unclean until evening.

⁹Then someone who is ceremonially clean will gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a purified place outside the camp. They will be kept there for the community of Israel to use in the water for the purification ceremony. This ceremony is performed for the removal of sin.

¹⁰The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel and any foreigners who live among them.

¹¹“All those who touch a dead human body will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.

¹²They must purify themselves on the third and seventh days with the water of purification; then they will be purified. But if they do not do this on the third and seventh days, they will continue to be unclean even after the seventh day.

¹³All those who touch a dead body and do not purify themselves in the proper way defile the LORD’s Tabernacle, and they will be cut off from the community of Israel. Since the water of purification was not sprinkled on them, their defilement continues.

¹⁴“This is the ritual law that applies when someone dies inside a tent: All those who enter that tent and those who were inside when the death occurred will be ceremonially unclean for seven days.

¹⁵Any open container in the tent that was not covered with a lid is also defiled.

¹⁶And if someone in an open field touches the corpse of someone who was killed with a sword or who died a natural death, or if someone touches a human bone or a grave, that person will be defiled for seven days.

¹⁷“To remove the defilement, put some of the ashes from the burnt purification offering in a jar, and pour fresh water over them.

¹⁸Then someone who is ceremonially clean must take a hyssop branch and dip it into the water. That person must sprinkle the water on the tent, on all the furnishings in the tent, and on the people who were in the tent; also on the person who touched a human bone, or touched someone who was killed or who died naturally, or touched a grave.

¹⁹On the third and seventh days the person who is ceremonially clean must sprinkle the water on those who are defiled. Then on the seventh day the people being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe themselves, and that evening they will be cleansed of their defilement.

²⁰“But those who become defiled and do not purify themselves will be cut off from the community, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. Since the water of purification has not been sprinkled on them, they remain defiled.

²¹This is a permanent law for the people. Those who sprinkle the water of purification must afterward wash their clothes, and anyone who then touches the water used for purification will remain defiled until evening.

²²Anything and anyone that a defiled person touches will be ceremonially unclean until evening.”

¹In the first month of the year, the whole community of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried.

²There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron.

³The people blamed Moses and said, “If only we had died in the LORD’s presence with our brothers!

⁴Why have you brought the congregation of the LORD’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock?

⁵Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!”

⁶Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face down on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to them,

⁷and the LORD said to Moses,

⁸“You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.”

⁹So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the LORD.

¹⁰Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. “Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?”

¹¹Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill.

¹²But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!”

¹³This place was known as the waters of Meribah (which means “arguing”) because there the people of Israel argued with the LORD, and there he demonstrated his holiness among them.

¹⁴While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message: “This is what your relatives, the people of Israel, say: You know all the hardships we have been through.

¹⁵Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there a long time, and we and our ancestors were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians.

¹⁶But when we cried out to the LORD, he heard us and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land.

¹⁷Please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory.”

¹⁸But the king of Edom said, “Stay out of my land, or I will meet you with an army!”

¹⁹The Israelites answered, “We will stay on the main road. If our livestock drink your water, we will pay for it. Just let us pass through your country. That’s all we ask.”

²⁰But the king of Edom replied, “Stay out! You may not pass through our land.” With that he mobilized his army and marched out against them with an imposing force.

²¹Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around.

²²The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor.

²³There, on the border of the land of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

²⁴“The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah.

²⁵Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor.

²⁶There you will remove Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron will die there and join his ancestors.”

²⁷So Moses did as the LORD commanded. The three of them went up Mount Hor together as the whole community watched.

²⁸At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron’s son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down.

²⁹When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days.

¹The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on the road through Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites and took some of them as prisoners.

²Then the people of Israel made this vow to the LORD: “If you will hand these people over to us, we will completely destroy all their towns.”

³The LORD heard the Israelites’ request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah ever since.

⁴Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey,

⁵and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”

⁶So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died.

⁷Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸Then the LORD told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”

⁹So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

¹⁰The Israelites traveled next to Oboth and camped there.

¹¹Then they went on to Iye-abarim, in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab.

¹²From there they traveled to the valley of Zered Brook and set up camp.

¹³Then they moved out and camped on the far side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness adjacent to the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites.

¹⁴For this reason The Book of the Wars of the LORD speaks of “the town of Waheb in the area of Suphah, and the ravines of the Arnon River,

¹⁵and the ravines that extend as far as the settlement of Ar on the border of Moab.”

¹⁶From there the Israelites traveled to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Assemble the people, and I will give them water.”

¹⁷There the Israelites sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Yes, sing its praises!

¹⁸Sing of this well, which princes dug, which great leaders hollowed out with their scepters and staffs.” Then the Israelites left the wilderness and proceeded on through Mattanah,

¹⁹Nahaliel, and Bamoth.

²⁰After that they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah Peak overlooks the wasteland.

²¹The Israelites sent ambassadors to King Sihon of the Amorites with this message:

²²“Let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road until we have passed through your territory.”

²³But King Sihon refused to let them cross his territory. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz.

²⁴But the Israelites slaughtered them with their swords and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified.

²⁵So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of Heshbon and its surrounding villages.

²⁶Heshbon had been the capital of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had defeated a former Moabite king and seized all his land as far as the Arnon River.

²⁷Therefore, the ancient poets wrote this about him: “Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt! Let the city of Sihon be restored.

²⁸A fire flamed forth from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It burned the city of Ar in Moab; it destroyed the rulers of the Arnon heights.

²⁹What sorrow awaits you, O people of Moab! You are finished, O worshipers of Chemosh! Chemosh has left his sons as refugees, his daughters as captives of Sihon, the Amorite king.

³⁰We have utterly destroyed them, from Heshbon to Dibon. We have completely wiped them out as far away as Nophah and Medeba. ”

³¹So the people of Israel occupied the territory of the Amorites.

³²After Moses sent men to explore the Jazer area, they captured all the towns in the region and drove out the Amorites who lived there.

³³Then they turned and marched up the road to Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his people attacked them at Edrei.

³⁴The LORD said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land. Do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.”

³⁵And Israel killed King Og, his sons, and all his subjects; not a single survivor remained. Then Israel occupied their land.

¹Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

²Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites.

³And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified.

⁴The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!” So Balak, king of Moab,

⁵sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.

⁶Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”

⁷Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him.

⁸“Stay here overnight,” Balaam said. “In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say.” So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.

⁹That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”

¹⁰Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message:

¹¹‘Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.’”

¹²But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!”

¹³The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The LORD will not let me go with you.”

¹⁴So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time.

¹⁶They went to Balaam and delivered this message to him: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me.

¹⁷I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!”

¹⁸But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God.

¹⁹But stay here one more night, and I will see if the LORD has anything else to say to me.”

²⁰That night God came to Balaam and told him, “Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”

²¹So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.

²²But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,

²³Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.

²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.

²⁶Then the angel of the LORD moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all.

²⁷This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.

²⁸Then the LORD gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.

²⁹“You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”

³⁰“But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted.

³¹Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.

³²“Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the LORD demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me.

³³Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”

³⁴Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.”

³⁵But the angel of the LORD told Balaam, “Go with these men, but say only what I tell you to say.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s officials.

³⁶When King Balak heard that Balaam was on the way, he went out to meet him at a Moabite town on the Arnon River at the farthest border of his land.

³⁷“Didn’t I send you an urgent invitation? Why didn’t you come right away?” Balak asked Balaam. “Didn’t you believe me when I said I would reward you richly?”

³⁸Balaam replied, “Look, now I have come, but I have no power to say whatever I want. I will speak only the message that God puts in my mouth.”

³⁹Then Balaam accompanied Balak to Kiriath-huzoth,

⁴⁰where the king sacrificed cattle and sheep. He sent portions of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him.

⁴¹The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see some of the people of Israel spread out below him.

¹Then Balaam said to King Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice.”

²Balak followed his instructions, and the two of them sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar.

³Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the LORD will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” So Balaam went alone to the top of a bare hill,

⁴and God met him there. Balaam said to him, “I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar.”

⁵The LORD gave Balaam a message for King Balak. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and give him my message.”

⁶So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.

⁷This was the message Balaam delivered: “Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’

⁸But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the LORD has not condemned?

⁹I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.

¹⁰Who can count Jacob’s descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel’s people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs.”

¹¹Then King Balak demanded of Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!”

¹²But Balaam replied, “I will speak only the message that the LORD puts in my mouth.”

¹³Then King Balak told him, “Come with me to another place. There you will see another part of the nation of Israel, but not all of them. Curse at least that many!”

¹⁴So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here by your burnt offerings while I go over there to meet the LORD.”

¹⁶And the LORD met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and give him my message.”

¹⁷So Balaam returned and found the king standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked eagerly.

¹⁸This was the message Balaam delivered: “Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.

¹⁹God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

²⁰Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!

²¹No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the LORD their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.

²²God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox.

²³No curse can touch Jacob; no magic has any power against Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob, ‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’

²⁴These people rise up like a lioness, like a majestic lion rousing itself. They refuse to rest until they have feasted on prey, drinking the blood of the slaughtered!”

²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, “Fine, but if you won’t curse them, at least don’t bless them!”

²⁶But Balaam replied to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you that I can do only what the LORD tells me?”

²⁷Then King Balak said to Balaam, “Come, I will take you to one more place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them from there.”

²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, overlooking the wasteland.

²⁹Balaam again told Balak, “Build me seven altars, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice.”

³⁰So Balak did as Balaam ordered and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.