Study Desk

But Balaam answered, "I must say the things that the Lord tells me to say."

Then Balak said to Balaam, "You didn't ask for good things to happen to these people, but you didn't ask for bad things to happen to them either!"

Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, so he did not try to change that by using any kind of magic. But Balaam turned and looked toward the desert.

When Balak heard this, he angrily struck his fist against his hand and said to Balaam, "I called you to come and curse my enemies. But you have blessed them. You have blessed them three times.

Now leave and go home! I told you that I would give you a very good payment, but the Lord has caused you to lose your reward."

Now I am going back to my own people. But I will give you this warning. I will tell you what these Israelites will do to you and your people in the future."

"I see him coming, but not now. I see him coming, but not soon. A star will come from the family of Jacob. A new ruler will come from the Israelites. He will smash the heads of the Moabites and crush the heads of all the sons of Sheth.

Then Balaam saw the Amalekites and said this: "Amalek is the strongest of all nations, but even Amalek will be destroyed!"

But you Kenites will be destroyed, just as the Lord destroyed Cain. Assyria will make you prisoners."

Ships will come from Cyprus. They will defeat Assyria and Eber, but those ships will also be destroyed."

He followed the Israelite into the tent. Then he used the spear to kill the Israelite man and the Midianite woman in her tent. He pushed the spear through both of their bodies. At that time there was a great sickness among the Israelites. But when Phinehas killed these two people, the sickness stopped.

"I was so angry with the Israelites that I wanted to kill them. But Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, has saved them from my anger. He did this by showing that he feels strongly, just as I do, that my people must worship only me.

They have already made you their enemies. They tricked you at Peor. And they tricked you with the woman named Cozbi. She was the daughter of a Midianite leader, but she was killed when the sickness came to the Israelites. That sickness was caused because the people were tricked into worshiping the false god Baal of Peor."

But the other people who were from the family of Korah did not die.

Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. But he had no sons—only daughters. His daughters' names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

But you must use lots to decide which tribe gets which part of the land. Each tribe will get its share of the land, and that land will be given the name of that tribe.

But Nadab and Abihu died. They died because they made an offering to the Lord with fire that was not allowed.

The total number of males one month or older from the tribe of Levi was 23,000. But these men were not counted with the other Israelites. They did not get a share of the land that the Lord gave to the other people.

Many years before, in the desert of Sinai, Moses and Aaron the priest counted the Israelites. But all these people were dead. Not one of them was still alive,

"Our father died while we were traveling through the desert. He died a natural death. He was not one of the men who joined Korah's group. (Korah was the man who turned against the Lord .) But our father had no sons.