And God will come to Balaam, and will say, What men these with thee?

Then Balaam told God, "Zippor's son Balak, king of Moab, sent them to me and said,

See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land.

And God will say to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for he is praised.

So Balaam got up the next morning and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your land, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

and the princes of Moab rise, and come in unto Balak, and say, 'Balaam is refusing to come with us.'

So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others.

and they come in unto Balaam, and say to him, 'Thus said Balak son of Zippor, Be not, I pray thee, withheld from coming unto me,

for very highly will I honour thee, and whatever thou shalt say to me will I do; come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

Balaam responded to Balak's entourage by saying, "Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I won't double-cross the command of the LORD my God in even the slightest way.

Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.

And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

So Balaam got up in the morning and saddled his donkey, and he went with the princes of Moab.

And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.

And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”

And Balaam will say to the ass, Because thou didst vex me: would that a sword was in my hand, for now I had killed thee.

And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

The Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your behavior was obstinate and contrary to Me.

And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.

And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have done wrong, for I did not see that you were in the way against me: but now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will go back again.

And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

And Balak heard that Balaam, was coming, - so he went forth to meet him unto a city of Moab which was upon the boundary of Arnon, which was in the utmost part of the boundary.

And Balak will say to Balaam, Sending, did I not send to thee to call to thee? wherefore camest thou not to me? indeed shall I not be able to honor thee?

And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

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

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

And Balaam will say to Balak, Build to me here seven altars, and prepare to me here seven bullocks and seven rams.

So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

And Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself at your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell to you." So he went [to] a barren height.

And God came unto Balaam, - so he said unto him The seven altars, have I built in a row, and have caused to ascend, bullock and a ram on each altar.

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

So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab.

So he took up his parable and said, - From Aram, doth Balak conduct me, The king of Moab, from the mountains of the East, Come thou! curse me Jacob, Yea, come thou! rage on Israel.

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.

Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing.

He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

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.

And he took him to the watchmen's field, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on each altar.

And he will say to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, and I will meet there.

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

So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak, get up and listen;
son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither a son of man, that he should repent. Shall he say and not do? and shall he speak and not make it good?

“Behold, I have received His command to bless [Israel].
He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

He has no regard [for] evil in Jacob, and he does not see trouble in Israel; Yahweh his God [is] with him, and a shout of a king [is] among them.

No evil power has effect against Jacob, no secret arts against Israel; at the right time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel, See what God has done!

See, Israel comes up like a she-lion, lifting himself up like a lion: he will take no rest till he has made a meal of those he has overcome, drinking the blood of those he has put to death.

And Balak will say to Balaam, Also, cursing, thou shalt not curse him, also thou shalt not praise him.

But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not say to you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do?’”

So Balak exhorted Balaam, "Let's go right now! I'll take you to another place. Maybe God will agree to have you curse them for me from there."

So Balak brought Balaam to the top of [Mount] Peor, that overlooks the wasteland.

And Balsam will say to Balak, Build to me here seven altars, and prepare to me here seven bullocks and seven rams.

So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

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.

He took up his [third] discourse (oracle) and said:

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened [at last, to see clearly the purpose and will of God],

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:

Jacob, your tents are so fine, as well as your dwelling places, 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.

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.

So now, go back where you came from! I said that I would greatly honor you; but now the Lord has stood in the way of your honor."

Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me,

If Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the commandment of Jehovah to do good or bad out of my heart: what Jehovah shall say, that will I speak?

So now I will go back to my people: but first let me make clear to you what this people will do to your people in days to come.

So he took up his parable and said, - The oracle of Balaam, son of Beer, Yea the oracle of the man, of opened eye;

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:

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.

“Edom shall be [taken as] a possession,
[Mount] Seir, Israel’s enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.

One who comes from Jacob will rule;
he will destroy the city’s survivors.

And he saw Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek is the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be for destruction.

And he saw the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Firm is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest fixed in the rock;

And he will take up his parable, and say, Wo! who shall live, God doing this?

“But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,
And shall afflict Asshur (Assyria) and Eber;
So they (the victors) also will come to destruction.”

For they invited the Israelites to the sacrifices of their gods, and the Israelites ate [food offered to idols] and bowed down to Moab’s gods.

So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor [in worship]. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

Yahweh said to Moses, "Take all {the leaders} of the people and kill them before the sun, so the fierce anger of Yahweh will turn from Israel."

So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each [of you] kill his men who are joined together with Baal Peor."

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.

Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

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

so shall it prove to be unto him and unto his seed after him, the covenant of our age-abiding priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and did put a propitiatory-covering over the sons of Israel.

And the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, the prince of a father's house of the Simeonites.

And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was tribal head of a father's house in Midian.

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.

After the plague was over, the LORD told Moses and Aaron the priest's son Eleazar,

“Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral houses of those 20 years old or more who can serve in Israel’s army.”

So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them on the desert-plateau of Moab by [the] Jordan [across from] Jericho, saying,

Reuben was the firstborn of Israel.
Reuben’s descendants:
the Hanochite clan from Hanoch;
the Palluite clan from Pallu;

Now Pallu's son was Eliab.

The sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram.
(It was Dathan and Abiram, chosen by the community, who fought against Moses and Aaron; they and Korah’s followers fought against the Lord.

The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and Korah at the time that company died, when the fire consumed 250 men. So they became a warning.

But Korah’s sons did not die [because they did not participate in the rebellion].

Simeon’s descendants by their clans:
the Nemuelite clan from Nemuel;
the Jaminite clan from Jamin;
the Jachinite clan from Jachin;

Gad’s descendants by their clans:
the Zephonite clan from Zephon;
the Haggite clan from Haggi;
the Shunite clan from Shuni;

Judah’s sons included Er and Onan, but they died in the land of Canaan.