Study Desk

Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse."

But God told Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!"

Then King Balak demanded of Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!"

Listen, I received a command to bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!

Then Balak said to Balaam, "Fine, but if you won't curse them, at least don't bless them!"

By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness,

Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you."

King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, "I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times.

And may the Lord , the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised!

For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing."'

Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power.

And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day.

He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals. When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats.

You will be blessed above all the nations of the earth. None of your men or women will be childless, and all your livestock will bear young.

At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Lord 's Covenant, and to stand before the Lord as his ministers, and to pronounce blessings in his name. These are their duties to this day.

"Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse!

You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land and helps you take possession of it, you must pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.

There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.

"But you may butcher your animals and eat their meat in any town whenever you want. You may freely eat the animals with which the Lord your God blesses you. All of you, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you now eat gazelle and deer.