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Complete Jewish Bible

Numbers 22:7

The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil‘am and spoke to him the words of Balak.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Balaam;   Balak;   Government;   Prayer;   Thompson Chain Reference - Divination;   Earthly;   Magic;   Reward;   Reward-Punishment;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Divination;   Midianites;   Moabites;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Midianites;   Moabites;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Midian;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Age, Old (the Aged);   Elder;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Midianite;   Moab;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Avith;   Balaam;   Epistle;   Midian;   Zalmunna;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Transjordan;   Wages;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Balaam;   Balak;   Government;   Magic, Divination, and Sorcery;   Midian, Mtdianites;   Moab, Moabites;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Soothsaying;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Elders;   Midian, Midianites ;   Zippor ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Balak;   Midian;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elder;   Moab;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Elder;   Magic, Magicians;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Midian;   Sinai;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Divination;   Elder;   Hafṭarah;   Joshua, the Samaritan Book of;   Korah;   Midian and Midianites;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The Zakenim of Mo'av and the Zakenim of Midyan departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Bil`am, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
King James Version
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Lexham English Bible
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went with a fee for divination in their hand; they came to Balaam and spoke the words of Balak to him.
English Standard Version
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message.
New Century Version
The elders of Moab and Midian went with payment in their hands. When they found Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.
New English Translation
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fee for divination in their hand. They came to Balaam and reported to him the words of Balak.
Amplified Bible
So the elders of Moab and of Midian departed with fees for divination (foretelling) in hand; and they came to Balaam and told him the words of Balak.
New American Standard Bible
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left with the fees for divination in their hands; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak's words to him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Elders of Moab, and the Elders of Midian departed, hauing the reward of the soothsaying in their hande, and they came vnto Balaam, and tolde him the wordes of Balak.
Legacy Standard Bible
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went away with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and spoke Balak's words to him.
Contemporary English Version
The leaders of Moab and Midian left and took along money to pay Balaam for his work. When they got to his house, they gave him Balak's message.
Darby Translation
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed, having the rewards of divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
Easy-to-Read Version
The leaders of Moab and Midian left. They went to talk to Balaam. They carried with them money to pay him for his service. Then they told him what Balak had said.
George Lamsa Translation
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with gifts for divination in their hands; and they came to Balaam and told him the words of Balak.
Good News Translation
So the Moabite and Midianite leaders took with them the payment for the curse, went to Balaam, and gave him Balak's message.
Christian Standard Bible®
The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him.
Literal Translation
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left with the rewards of the seer in their hand. And they came to Balaam and spoke the words of Balak to him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the Elders of the Moabites wente on with ye Elders of the Madianites, and had the rewarde of ye soyth sayenge in their handes, and they came vnto Balaam, & tolde him the wordes of Balaac.
American Standard Version
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Bible in Basic English
So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the elders of Moab, and the elders of Madian departed, hauyng the [rewarde] of the southsaying in their hande: And they came vnto Balaam, and tolde hym the wordes of Balac.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the words of Balak.
King James Version (1611)
And the elders of Moab, and the elders of Midian departed, with the rewards of diuination in their hand; and they came vnto Balaam, and spake vnto him the words of Balak.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the elders of Moab went, and the elders of Madiam, and their divining instruments were in their hands; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balac.
English Revised Version
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Berean Standard Bible
The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The eldere men of Moab and the grettere men in birthe of Madian yeden forth, hauynge in hondis the prijs of fals dyuynyng; and whanne thei hadden come to Balaam, and hadden teld to hym alle the wordis of Balaach, he answeride,
Young's Literal Translation
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian go, and divinations in their hand, and they come in unto Balaam, and speak unto him the words of Balak,
Update Bible Version
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of fortune-telling in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
World English Bible
The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
New King James Version
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner's fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak.
New Living Translation
Balak'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.
New Life Bible
So the leaders of Moab and the leaders of Midian left with the pay in their hand for the one who tells what will happen in the future. When they came to Balaam, they told him Balak's words.
New Revised Standard
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak's message.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went their way, with the rewards of divination in their hand, - so they came in unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the ancients of Moab, and the elders of Madian, went with the price of divination in their hands. And where they were come to Balaam, and had told him all the words of Balac:
Revised Standard Version
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Mid'ian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak's message.
THE MESSAGE
The leaders of Moab and Midian were soon on their way, with the fee for the cursing tucked safely in their wallets. When they got to Balaam, they gave him Balak's message. "Stay here for the night," Balaam said. "In the morning I'll deliver the answer that God gives me." The Moabite nobles stayed with him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak's words to him.

Contextual Overview

1 Then the people of Isra'el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden River, opposite Yericho. Haftarah Hukkat: Shof'tim (Judges) 11:1–33 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hukkat: Yochanan (John) 3:9–21; 4:3–30; 12:27–50 [In regular years read with Parashah 39, in leap years read separately] Now Balak the son of Tzippor saw all that Isra'el had done to the Emori. Mo'av was very afraid of the people, because there were so many of them; Mo'av was overcome with dread because of the people of Isra'el. So Mo'av said to the leaders of Midyan, "This horde will lick up everything around us, the way an ox licks up grass in the field." Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Mo'av at that time. He sent messengers to Bil‘am the son of B‘or, at P'tor by the [Euphrates] River in his native land, to tell him, "Listen, a people has come out of Egypt, spread over all the land and settled down next to me. Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed." The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil‘am and spoke to him the words of Balak. He said to them, "Stay here tonight, and I will bring you back whatever answer Adonai tells me." So the princes of Mo'av stayed with Bil‘am. God came to Bil‘am and said, "Who are these men with you?" Bil‘am said to God, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent me this message: ‘The people who came out of Egypt have spread over the land; now, come and curse them for me; maybe I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.'" God answered Bil‘am, "You are not to go with them; you are not to curse the people, because they are blessed." (RY: v; LY: ii) Bil‘am got up in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Return to your own land, because Adonai refuses to give me permission to go with you." The princes of Mo'av got up, returned to Balak and said, "Bil‘am refuses to come with us." Balak again sent princes, more of them and of higher status than the first group. They went to Bil‘am and said to him, "Here is what Balak the son of Tzippor says: ‘Please don't let anything keep you from coming to me. I will reward you very well, and whatever you say to me I will do. So please come, and curse this people for me.'" Bil‘am answered the servants of Balak, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Adonai my God to do anything, great or small. Now, please, you too, stay here tonight; so that I may find out what else Adonai will say to me." God came to Bil‘am during the night and said to him, "If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you." (LY: iii) So Bil‘am got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Mo'av. But God's anger flared up because he went, and the angel of Adonai stationed himself on the path to bar his way. He was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of Adonai standing on the road, drawn sword in hand; so the donkey turned off the road into the field; and Bil‘am had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. Then the angel of Adonai stood on the road where it became narrow as it passed among the vineyards and had stone walls on both sides. The donkey saw the angel of Adonai and pushed up against the wall, crushing Bil‘am's foot against the wall. So he beat it again. The angel of Adonai moved ahead and stood in a place so tight that there was no room to turn either right or left. Again the donkey saw the angel of Adonai and lay down under Bil‘am, which made him so angry that he hit the donkey with his stick. But Adonai enabled the donkey to speak, and it said to Bil‘am, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Bil‘am said to the donkey, "It's because you've been making a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand; I would kill you on the spot!" The donkey said to Bil‘am, "I'm your donkey, right? You've ridden me all your life, right? Have I ever treated you like this before?" "No," he admitted. Then Adonai opened Bil‘am's eyes, so that he could see the angel of Adonai standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell on his face. The angel of Adonai said to him, "Why did you hit your donkey three times like that? I have come out here to bar your way, because you are rushing to oppose me. The donkey saw me and turned aside these three times; and indeed, if she hadn't turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and saved it alive!" Bil‘am said to the angel of Adonai , "I have sinned. I didn't know that you were standing on the road to block me. Now, therefore, if what I am doing displeases you, I will go back." But the angel of Adonai said to Bil‘am, "No, go on with the men; but you are to say only what I tell you to say." So Bil‘am went along with the princes of Balak. When Balak heard that Bil‘am had come, he went out to meet him in the city of Mo'av at the Arnon border, in the farthest reaches of the territory. Balak said to Bil‘am, "I sent more than once to summon you! Why didn't you come to me? Did you think I couldn't pay you enough?" Bil‘am replied to Balak, "Here, I've come to you! But I have no power of my own to say anything. The word that God puts in my mouth is what I will say." (RY: vi, LY: iv) Bil‘am went with Balak. When they arrived at Kiryat-Hutzot, Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, then sent to Bil‘am and the princes with him. In the morning Balak took Bil‘am and brought him up to the high places of Ba‘al; from there he could see a portion of the people. 2 Then the people of Isra'el traveled on and camped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden River, opposite Yericho. Haftarah Hukkat: Shof'tim (Judges) 11:1–33 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Hukkat: Yochanan (John) 3:9–21; 4:3–30; 12:27–50 [In regular years read with Parashah 39, in leap years read separately] Now Balak the son of Tzippor saw all that Isra'el had done to the Emori. 3 Mo'av was very afraid of the people, because there were so many of them; Mo'av was overcome with dread because of the people of Isra'el. 4 So Mo'av said to the leaders of Midyan, "This horde will lick up everything around us, the way an ox licks up grass in the field." Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Mo'av at that time. 5 He sent messengers to Bil‘am the son of B‘or, at P'tor by the [Euphrates] River in his native land, to tell him, "Listen, a people has come out of Egypt, spread over all the land and settled down next to me. 6 Therefore, please come, and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Maybe I will be able to strike them down and drive them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is in fact blessed, and whomever you curse is in fact cursed." 7 The leaders of Mo'av and Midyan left, taking with them the payment for divining, came to Bil‘am and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 He said to them, "Stay here tonight, and I will bring you back whatever answer Adonai tells me." So the princes of Mo'av stayed with Bil‘am. 9 God came to Bil‘am and said, "Who are these men with you?" 10 Bil‘am said to God, "Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent me this message:

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

rewards of divination: 1 Samuel 9:7, 1 Samuel 9:8, Isaiah 56:11, Ezekiel 13:19, Micah 3:11, Romans 16:18, 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 Timothy 6:10, Titus 1:11, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11

Reciprocal: Numbers 22:4 - elders Numbers 22:15 - princes Numbers 22:19 - General Deuteronomy 23:4 - because they hired Judges 16:18 - brought money 1 Kings 11:18 - Midian 2 Kings 5:5 - and took Daniel 2:6 - ye shall Daniel 5:7 - be clothed Acts 1:18 - with

Cross-References

Genesis 8:20
Noach built an altar to Adonai . Then he took from every clean animal and every clean bird, and he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Genesis 22:2
He said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz'chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you."
Genesis 22:4
On the third day, Avraham raised his eyes and saw the place in the distance.
Exodus 12:3
Speak to all the assembly of Isra'el and say, ‘On the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb or kid for his family, one per household —
Matthew 26:39
Going on a little farther, he fell on his face, praying, "My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet — not what I want, but what you want!"
Matthew 26:42
A second time he went off and prayed. "My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, let what you want be done."
John 18:11
Yeshua said to Kefa, "Put your sword back in its scabbard! This is the cup the Father has given me; am I not to drink it?"
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to bring you back again into fear; on the contrary, you received the Spirit, who makes us sons and by whose power we cry out, "Abba!" (that is, "Dear Father!").

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the elders of Moab, and the elders of Midian, departed,.... By which it appears that they were princes and nobles; for such the elders were, that were sent on this errand to Balaam; and that they were some of both people, Midian and Moab, that went upon it, see

Numbers 22:14 which shows, that if they were not one people, under one king, which yet seems likely, nevertheless they made a common cause of it, and joined in this expedient to save their country:

with the rewards of divination in their hands; not that diviners were sent along with them to Balsam, as Aben Ezra interprets it, that he might not deceive them, and put them off, by saying it was not a fit and proper day or hour to go out and curse, which these men would be able to refute; but if they were skilled in the art of divination as well as he, what need was there to send to him, when they had such at hand? nor instruments of divination, as Jarchi, which so famous a soothsayer could not be thought to be without; but, as we rightly render it, the rewards of divination, which were either fixed or left to the generosity of those that had recourse to such persons, and were presents which they brought them, in order to engage them to use the utmost of their art for them; and this sense is confirmed by the Apostles Peter and Jude, see 2 Peter 2:15:

and they came unto Balaam; at Pethor:

and spake unto him the words of Balak: told him the errand they were sent on to him by the king of Moab.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Rewards of divination - Rightly interpreted in 2 Peter 2:15 as “the wages of unrighteousness.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 22:7. The rewards of divination — Whoever went to consult a prophet took with him a present, as it was on such gratuitous offerings the prophets lived; but here more than a mere present is intended, perhaps every thing necessary to provide materials for the incantation. The drugs, c., used on such occasions were often very expensive. It appears that Balaam was very covetous, and that he loved the wages of unrighteousness, and probably lived by it see 2 Peter 2:15.


 
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