Numbers 19-23
New King James Version
Laws of Purification
19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the [a]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without [b]blemish, in which there is no (A)defect (B)and on which a yoke has never come. 3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it (C)outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and (D)sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: (E)its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take (F)cedar wood and (G)hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 (H)Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up (I)the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel (J)for the water of [c]purification; it is for purifying from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
11 (K)‘He who touches the dead [d]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 (L)He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and (M)does not purify himself, (N)defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because (O)the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; (P)his uncleanness is still on him.
14 ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 and every (Q)open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 (R)Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the (S)ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and [e]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 A clean person shall take (T)hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; (U)and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.
20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has (V)defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. 22 (W)Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and (X)the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”
Moses’ Error at Kadesh(Y)
20 Then(Z) the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in (AA)Kadesh; and (AB)Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 (AC)Now there was no water for the congregation; (AD)so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people (AE)contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died (AF)when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 (AG)Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and (AH)they [f]fell on their faces. And (AI)the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 (AJ)“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus (AK)you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod (AL)from before the Lord as He commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, (AM)“Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; (AN)and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because (AO)you did not believe Me, to (AP)hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
13 (AQ)This was the water of [g]Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.
Passage Through Edom Refused
14 (AR)Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of (AS)Edom. (AT)“Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 (AU)how our fathers went down to Egypt, (AV)and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, (AW)and the Egyptians [h]afflicted us and our fathers. 16 (AX)When we cried out to the Lord, He heard our voice and (AY)sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 Please (AZ)let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”
18 Then (BA)Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”
19 So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, (BB)then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”
20 Then he said, (BC)“You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom (BD)refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel (BE)turned away from him.
Death of Aaron
22 Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from (BF)Kadesh (BG)and came to Mount Hor. 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 “Aaron shall [i]be (BH)gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. 25 (BI)Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the Lord commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 (BJ)Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and (BK)Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron (BL)thirty days.
Canaanites Defeated at Hormah
21 The (BM)king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 (BN)So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then (BO)I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called [j]Hormah.
The Bronze Serpent
4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to (BP)go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very [k]discouraged on the way. 5 And the people (BQ)spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul [l]loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So (BR)the Lord sent (BS)fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7 (BT)Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have (BU)sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; (BV)pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, (BW)“Make a (BX)fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So (BY)Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
From Mount Hor to Moab
10 Now the children of Israel moved on and (BZ)camped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at [m]Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 (CA)From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for (CB)the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord:
[n]“Waheb in Suphah,
The brooks of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the brooks
That reaches to the dwelling of (CC)Ar,
And lies on the border of Moab.”
16 From there they went (CD)to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 (CE)Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!
All of you sing to it—
18 The well the leaders sank,
Dug by the nation’s nobles,
By the (CF)lawgiver, with their staves.”
And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the [o]country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks (CG)down on the [p]wasteland.
King Sihon Defeated(CH)
21 Then (CI)Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 (CJ)“Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 (CK)But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and [q]went out against Israel in the wilderness, (CL)and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then (CM)Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. 25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel (CN)dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in [r]proverbs say:
“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
Let the city of Sihon be repaired.
28 “For (CO)fire went out from Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon;
It consumed (CP)Ar of Moab,
The lords of the (CQ)heights of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, (CR)Moab!
You have perished, O people of (CS)Chemosh!
He has given his (CT)sons as fugitives,
And his (CU)daughters into captivity,
To Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 “But we have shot at them;
Heshbon has perished (CV)as far as Dibon.
Then we laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to (CW)Medeba.”
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 Then Moses sent to [s]spy out (CX)Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
King Og Defeated(CY)
33 (CZ)And they turned and went up by the way to (DA)Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle (DB)at Edrei. 34 Then the Lord said to Moses, (DC)“Do not fear him, for I have [t]delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and (DD)you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” 35 (DE)So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.
Balak Sends for Balaam
22 Then (DF)the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.
2 Now (DG)Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And (DH)Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to (DI)the elders of Midian, “Now this company will [u]lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then (DJ)he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at (DK)Pethor, which is near [v]the River in the land of [w]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 (DL)Therefore please come at once, (DM)curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with (DN)the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, (DO)“Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 (DP)Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”
12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for (DQ)they are blessed.”
13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”
14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more [x]honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly (DR)honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. (DS)Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”
18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, (DT)“Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, (DU)I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also (DV)stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”
20 (DW)And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but (DX)only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, (DY)and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now (DZ)the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the Lord (EA)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have [y]abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, (EB)for now I would kill you!”
30 (EC)So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever [z]disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord (ED)opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out [aa]to stand against you, because your way is (EE)perverse[ab] before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, (EF)“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it [ac]displeases You, I will turn back.”
35 Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, (EG)but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, (EH)he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, (EI)which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able (EJ)to honor you?”
38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? (EK)The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.
Balaam’s First Prophecy
41 So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the (EL)high places of Baal, that from there he might observe [ad]the extent of the people.
The Prophecies of Balaam
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, (EM)“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam (EN)offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, (EO)“Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come (EP)to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. 4 (EQ)And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
5 Then the Lord (ER)put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he (ES)took up his [ae]oracle and said:
“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
(ET)‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, (EU)denounce Israel!’
8 “How(EV) shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! (EW)A people dwelling alone,
(EX)Not reckoning itself among the nations.
10 “Who(EY) can count the [af]dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die (EZ)the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? (FA)I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”
12 So he answered and said, (FB)“Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Prophecy
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, (FC)and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I [ag]meet the Lord over there.”
16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and (FD)put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
18 Then he took up his oracle and said:
(FE)“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 “God(FF) is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He (FG)said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
(FH)He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 “He(FI) has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen [ah]wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
(FJ)And the shout of a King is among them.
22 (FK)God brings them out of Egypt;
He has (FL)strength like a wild ox.
23 “For there is no [ai]sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any [aj]divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, (FM)what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rises (FN)like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
(FO)It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”
26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, (FP)‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”
Balaam’s Third Prophecy
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that (FQ)overlooks the [ak]wasteland. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 19:2 statute
- Numbers 19:2 defect
- Numbers 19:9 Lit. impurity
- Numbers 19:11 Lit. soul of man
- Numbers 19:17 Lit. living
- Numbers 20:6 prostrated themselves
- Numbers 20:13 Lit. Contention
- Numbers 20:15 did evil to
- Numbers 20:24 Die and join his ancestors
- Numbers 21:3 Lit. Utter Destruction
- Numbers 21:4 impatient
- Numbers 21:5 detests
- Numbers 21:11 Lit. The Heaps of Abarim
- Numbers 21:14 Ancient unknown places; Vg. What He did in the Red Sea
- Numbers 21:20 Lit. field
- Numbers 21:20 Heb. Jeshimon
- Numbers 21:23 attacked
- Numbers 21:27 parables
- Numbers 21:32 secretly search
- Numbers 21:34 given you victory over him
- Numbers 22:4 consume
- Numbers 22:5 The Euphrates
- Numbers 22:5 Or the people of Amau
- Numbers 22:15 distinguished
- Numbers 22:29 mocked
- Numbers 22:30 accustomed
- Numbers 22:32 as an adversary
- Numbers 22:32 contrary
- Numbers 22:34 Lit. is evil in your eyes
- Numbers 22:41 the farthest extent
- Numbers 23:7 prophetic discourse
- Numbers 23:10 Or dust cloud
- Numbers 23:15 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; Syr. call; LXX go and ask God
- Numbers 23:21 trouble
- Numbers 23:23 enchantment
- Numbers 23:23 fortune-telling
- Numbers 23:28 Heb. Jeshimon
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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