The Prophecy from Peor

24 When Balaam saw that it ^[a]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to ^[b]seek ^(A)omens, rather he turned his ^[c]attention toward the ^(B)wilderness. ² And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel ^[d]camping tribe by tribe; and ^(C)the Spirit of God came upon him. ³ Then he took up his discourse and said,

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ^[j]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! ¹¹ So ^[k]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹² And Balaam said to Balak, “^(P)Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, ¹³ ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the ^[l]command of the Lord, either good or bad, ^(Q)of my own ^[m]accord. ^(R)What the Lord speaks, I will ^[n]speak’? ¹⁴ So now, behold, ^(S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the ^[o]days to come.”

¹⁵ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁰ And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

²¹ And he looked at the ^(Z)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

²³ Then he took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to ^(AE)his place, and Balak also went on his way.

The Sin of Peor

25 While Israel remained at ^(A)Shittim, the people began ^(B)to commit infidelity with the daughters of Moab. ² For ^(C)they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So ^(D)Israel ^[a]became followers of ^[b]Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry with Israel. ⁴ And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and ^[c]execute them ^[d]in broad daylight before the Lord, ^(E)so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” ⁵ So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you ^(F)kill his men who have ^[e]become followers of ^[f]Baal of Peor.”

⁶ Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a ^(G)Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, ^(H)while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ^7 (I)When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, ⁸ and he went after the man of Israel into the inner room of the tent and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through the abdomen. ^(J)So the plague on the sons of Israel was brought to a halt. ^9 (K)But those who died from the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.

The Zeal of Phinehas

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹ “^(L)Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has averted My wrath from the sons of Israel in that he was ^[g]jealous with My ^[h]jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel ^(M)in My ^[i]jealousy. ¹² Therefore say, ‘^(N)Behold, I am giving him My ^(O)covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be for him and for his ^[j]descendants after him, a covenant of a ^(P)permanent priesthood, because he was ^[k]jealous for his God and ^(Q)made atonement for the sons of Israel.’”

¹⁴ Now the name of the ^[l]dead man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s household among the Simeonites. ¹⁵ And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was ^(R)Cozbi the daughter of ^(S)Zur, ^[m]who was head of the people of a father’s household in Midian.

¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “^(T)Be hostile to the Midianites and attack them; ¹⁸ for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Census of a New Generation

26 ^[a]Then it came about after the ^(A)plague, ^[b]that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ² “^(B)Take a ^[c]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ households, whoever is able to go to war in Israel.” ³ So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them ^(C)in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ⁴ “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and upward, as the Lord has commanded Moses.”

Now the sons of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were as follows:

⁵ Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; ⁶ of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷ These are the families of the Reubenites, and those who were counted of them were ^(D)43,730. ⁸ The son of Pallu: Eliab. ⁹ The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were ^(E)called by the congregation, who fought against Moses and against Aaron in the group of Korah, when they fought against the Lord, ¹⁰ and ^(F)the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that group died, ^(G)when the fire devoured 250 men, so that they became a warning sign. ^11 (H)The sons of Korah, however, did not die.

¹² The sons of Simeon by their families: of ^[d]Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; of ^[e]Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; ¹³ of ^[f]Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These are the families of the Simeonites, ^(I)22,200 in number.

¹⁵ The sons of Gad by their families: of ^[g]Zephon, the family of the Zephonites; of Haggi, the family of the Haggites; of Shuni, the family of the Shunites; ¹⁶ of ^[h]Ozni, the family of the Oznites; of Eri, the family of the Erites; ¹⁷ of ^[i]Arod, the family of the Arodites; of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These are the families of the sons of Gad according to those who were numbered of them, ^(J)40,500.

¹⁹ The ^(K)sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The ^(L)sons of Judah by their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites. ²¹ The sons of Perez were: of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²² These are the families of Judah by those who were numbered of them, ^(M)76,500.

²³ The ^(N)sons of Issachar by their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of ^[j]Puvah, the family of the Punites; ²⁴ of ^[k]Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These are the families of Issachar by those who were numbered of them, ^(O)64,300.

²⁶ The ^(P)sons of Zebulun by their families: of Sered, the family of the Seredites; of Elon, the family of the Elonites; of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These are the families of the Zebulunites by those who were numbered of them, ^(Q)60,500.

²⁸ The ^(R)sons of Joseph by their families: Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹ The sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites; and ^(S)Machir fathered Gilead: of Gilead, the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰ These are the sons of Gilead: of ^[l]Iezer, the family of the ^(T)Iezerites; of Helek, the family of the Helekites; ³¹ and of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites; and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites; ³² and of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites; and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³ Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, only daughters; and ^(U)the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These are the families of Manasseh; and those who were numbered of them were ^(V)52,700.

³⁵ These are the sons of Ephraim by their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthelahites; of ^[m]Becher, the family of the Becherites; of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶ These are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷ These are the families of the sons of Ephraim by those who were numbered of them, ^(W)32,500. These are the sons of Joseph by their families.

³⁸ The sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites; of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites; of ^[n]Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites; ³⁹ of ^[o]Shephupham, the family of the Shuphamites; of ^[p]Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ The sons of Bela were ^[q]Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites; of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹ These are the sons of Benjamin by their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^(X)45,600.

⁴² These are the sons of Dan by their families: of ^[r]Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan by their families. ⁴³ All the families of the Shuhamites, by those who were numbered of them, were ^(Y)64,400.

⁴⁴ The ^(Z)sons of Asher by their families: of Imnah, the family of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the family of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵ Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah. ⁴⁷ These are the families of the sons of Asher by those who were numbered of them, ^(AA)53,400.

⁴⁸ The ^(AB)sons of Naphtali by their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites; of Guni, the family of the Gunites; ⁴⁹ of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites; of ^(AC)Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These are the families of Naphtali by their families; and those who were numbered of them were ^(AD)45,400.

⁵¹ These are the ones who were numbered of the sons of Israel, ^(AE)601,730.

⁵² Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³ “^[s]Among these the land shall be divided as an inheritance according to the number of names. ^54 (AF)To a larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to a smaller group you shall decrease their inheritance; each shall be given their inheritance corresponding to the total of those who were numbered of them. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be ^(AG)divided by lot. They shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. ⁵⁶ Corresponding to the selection by lot, their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller groups.”

^57 (AH)These are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korahites. ^(AI)Kohath fathered Amram. ⁵⁹ And the name of Amram’s wife ^(AJ)was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and their sister Miriam. ^60 (AK)And to Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ^61 (AL)But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered ^[t]strange fire before the Lord. ⁶² Those who were numbered of them were ^(AM)twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and upward, for ^(AN)they were not numbered among the sons of Israel ^(AO)since no inheritance was given to them among the sons of Israel.

⁶³ These are the ones who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. ^64 (AP)But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had said ^[u]of them, “^(AQ)They shall certainly die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, ^(AR)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

A Law of Inheritance

27 Then ^(A)the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph, came forward; and these are ^(B)the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ² They stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, before the leaders, and all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, ³ “Our father ^(C)died in the wilderness, yet he was not among the group of those who gathered together against the Lord, in the group of Korah; but he died in his own sin, and ^(D)he had no sons. ⁴ Why should the name of our father be withdrawn from among his family simply because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s brothers.” ^5 (E)So Moses brought their case before the Lord.

⁶ Then the Lord said to ^[a]Moses, ⁷ “^(F)The daughters of Zelophehad are right about their statements. You shall certainly give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers, and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them. ⁸ Further, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. ⁹ And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. ¹⁰ If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. ¹¹ And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his nearest relative in his own family, and he shall take possession of it; and it shall be a ^(G)statutory ordinance to the sons of Israel, just as the Lord has commanded Moses.’”

^12 (H)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up to this ^(I)mountain of Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the sons of Israel. ¹³ When you have seen it, you too ^(J)will be gathered to your people, ^(K)just as Aaron your brother ^[b]was; ¹⁴ for in the wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, ^(L)you rebelled against My ^[c]command to treat Me as holy before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹⁵ Then Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, ¹⁶ “^(M)May the Lord, the God of the spirits of ^[d]humanity, appoint a man over the congregation, ¹⁷ who ^(N)will go out ^[e]and come in before them, and lead them out and ^[f]bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord will not be ^(O)like sheep that have no shepherd.” ¹⁸ So the Lord said to Moses, “^[g]Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man ^(P)in whom is the Spirit, and ^(Q)lay your hand on him; ¹⁹ and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and ^(R)commission him in their sight. ²⁰ And you shall put some of your ^[h]authority on him, so that all the congregation of the sons of Israel will obey him. ²¹ Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him ^(S)by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his ^[i]command they shall go out, and at his ^[j]command they shall come in, both he and all the sons of Israel with him, all the congregation.” ²² Then Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. ²³ Then he laid his hands on him and ^(T)commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken ^[k]through Moses.

The Excellence of Love

13 If I speak with the ^(A)tongues of mankind and of ^(B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a ^(C)clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of ^(D)prophecy and know all ^(E)mysteries and all ^(F)knowledge, and if I have ^(G)all faith so as to ^(H)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I ^(I)give away all my possessions to charity, and if I ^(J)surrender my body so that I may ^[a]glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

⁴ Love ^(K)is patient, love is kind, it ^(L)is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not ^(M)arrogant. ⁵ It does not act disgracefully, it ^(N)does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, ^(O)does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, ^6 (P)it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but ^(Q)rejoices with the truth; ⁷ it ^[b](R)keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^[c](S)prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are ^(T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. ⁹ For we ^(U)know in part and prophesy in part; ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. ¹¹ When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I ^[d]became a man, I did away with childish things. ¹² For now we ^(V)see in a mirror ^[e]dimly, but then ^(W)face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also ^(X)have been fully known. ¹³ But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the ^[f]greatest of these is ^(Y)love.