Verse 13: Bil'am arose in the morning
and said to Balak's dignitaries:
"Go back to your land,
for Ad-noy refuses to allow me to go with you."
Verse 14: Moav's
dignitaries got up,
and came to Balak and said:
"Bil'am refuses to go with us."
Verse 15: Balak persisted
and sent dignitaries in greater number
and of higher rank than these.
Verse 16: They came to Bil'am and said to him:
"The following is a message from
Balak the son Tzipor:
'Please do not refuse to come to me.
Verse 17: For I will honor you greatly
and whatever you tell me, I will do,
if you would just please come
and curse this people for me.' "
Verse 18: Bil'am answered and said
to Balak's servants:
"Even if Balak would give me
silver and gold enough to fill his house,
I cannot
transgress
the word of Ad-noy my G-d,
by doing anything small or great.
Verse 19: Now,
you also, please remain here overnight,
and I will get to know
what more will Ad-noy tell me."
Verse 20: G-d appeared to Bil'am that night
and said to him:
"If the men have come to call you,
arise and go with them;
however,
whatever I will say to you,
you will do."
Sh'lishi (Third Aliyah)
Verse 21: Bil'am arose in the morning,
saddled his donkey,
and went with the Moavite dignitaries.
Verse 22: G-d showed anger because he went,
and an angel of
Ad-noy placed himself in the way
to thwart him,
as he was riding on his donkey
accompanied by his two attendants.
Verse 23: The donkey saw the angel of Ad-noy
standing in the way
with his sword drawn in his hand;
the donkey turned aside from the way
and went into
the field;
Bil'am struck the donkey
to get it back on the way.
Verse 24: But the angel of Ad-noy stood
in a narrow path of the vineyards
with a barrier at either side.
Verse 25: When the donkey saw the angel of Ad-noy,
she was pressed against the wall
and pressed Bil'am's foot against the wall;
and he struck
her even more.
Verse 26: Ad-noy's angel passed further ahead
and stood in a narrow place,
where there was no room to turn
[either] to the right or to the left.
Verse 27: When the donkey saw the angel of Ad-noy,
it crouched beneath Bil'am;
Bil'am became angry
and beat the donkey with the stick.
Verse 28: Ad-noy opened the mouth of the donkey,
and she said to Bil'am:
"What have I done to you,
that you have hit me these three times"?
Verse 29: Bil'am said
to the donkey:
"Because you have ridiculed me;
would that I had a sword in my hand,
I would kill you now."
Verse 30: The donkey replied to Bil'am:
"Am I not the very same donkey
that you have been riding on
all your life until this very day?
Was it ever my habit
to do this to you"?
And he said: "No."
Verse 31: Ad-noy then enabled Bil'am to see,
and he observed the angel of Ad-noy
standing in the
way
with his sword drawn in his hand.
He bowed his head
and prostrated himself on his face.
Verse 32: The angel of Ad-noy said to him:
"Why did you hit your donkey
these three times?
Behold, I came out to obstruct you,
because your way is contrary to me.
Verse 33: And when the
donkey saw me,
it turned aside these three times;
had she not turned aside before me
as [she did] now
I would surely have killed you
and she, I would let live."
Verse 34: Bil'am said
to the angel of Ad-noy:
"I have sinned because I did not know
that you were standing
in the way before me;
now therefore, if it is wicked in your eyes,
I shall return."
Verse 35: The angel of Ad-noy said to Bil'am:
"Go with the men,
but only the
word that I will speak to you
shall you speak."
Bil'am then continued to go
with Balak's dignitaries.
Verse 36: When Balak heard that Bil'am was coming,
he went out to meet him,
to the city of Moav,
which is on the boundary of Arnon---
at the very edge of the boundary.
Verse 37: Balak said to Bil'am:
"Did I not send so many [dignitaries]
to invite you?
Why did you not come to me?
Am I really incapable of honoring you"?
Verse 38:
Bil'am replied to Balak:
"Now that I have come to you,
have I any power to say anything?
Only the word that Ad-noy puts in my mouth
will I speak."
Verse 39: Bil'am went with Balak
and they came to Kiryas Chutzos.
Verse 40: Balak slaughtered cattle and sheep
and he sent some to Bil'am
and to the dignitaries that were with him.
Verse 41: In the morning,
Balak took Bil'am
and he led him up to Bamos Ba'al;
from there he saw part of the people.
Chapter 23
Verse 1: Bil'am said to Balak:
"Build seven altars for me here,
and prepare for me seven bulls
and seven rams."
Verse 2: Balak did as Bil'am requested.
Balak and Bil'am then sacrificed as burnt-offerings
an ox and a ram on
each altar.
Verse 3: Bil'am said to Balak:
"Stand beside your burnt-offering
and I will go away.
Perhaps, Ad-noy will appear to me,
and whatever He will show me I will tell you."
And he went away alone.
Verse 4: G-d chanced to appear to Bil'am,
and he said to Him:
"I have set up the seven altars and I offered
[as
burnt-offerings] an ox and a ram on the altar."
Verse 5: Ad-noy put a message in Bil'am's mouth
and He said:
"Return to Balak and tell him as follows."
Verse 6: When he returned,
Balak was still standing next to his burnt-offering
together with all the dignitaries of Moav.
Verse 7: Bil'am set forth his parable, and said:
"From Aram has Balak, King of Moav, brought me,
out of the mountains of the east [saying]:
'Come, curse Yaakov for me;
go, invoke wrath against Yisroel.
Verse 8: How can I curse,
when G-d has not cursed?
What Divine wrath can I
evoke
if Ad-noy has not been angry?
Verse 9: For I view it,
from the mountain peaks,
I gaze upon it from the hills;
behold! A people which shall dwell alone
and will not be reckoned among the nations.
Verse 10: Who can count the dust of Yaakov
or count the
seed of Yisroel?
May my soul die the death of the righteous,
and let my end be like his."
Verse 11: Balak said to Bil'am:
"What have you done to me?
I took you to curse my enemies
but you have in fact blessed them!"
Verse 12: Bil'am replied and said:
"Only what Ad-noy tells me
must I be careful to say."
Chamishi (Fifth Aliyah)
Verse 13: Balak then said to him,
"Come with me to another place
from where you
will see them.
But you will see only a part of them,
without seeing them all,
and curse them for me from there."
Verse 14: He took him [Bil'am] to the field of Tzofim,
to the peak of the mountain;
he built seven altars
and sacrificed as a burnt-offering
a bull and a ram on each altar.
Verse 15: He then said to Balak:
"Stand here next to your burnt-offering,
and I will be called here by chance."
Verse 16: Ad-noy
chanced to appear to Bil'am
and placed the word in his mouth;
He said: "Return to Balak and say as follows."
Verse 17: When he returned,
he (Balak) was still standing
next to his burnt-offering
accompanied by the Moavite dignitaries;
Balak asked:
"What did Ad-noy say"?
Verse 18: Bil'am set forth his parable, and said:
"Arise, Balak,
and hear,
listen closely to me, son of Tzipor.
Verse 19: G-d is not like man
that He should act falsely,
nor is He mortal
that He should change His mind.
Would He say and not do it?
Or speak and not fulfill it?
Verse 20: Behold, I
was commanded to bless,
and [when] He has blessed,
I cannot reverse it.
Verse 21: One does not see evildoers in Yaakov;
and He has seen
no transgression in Yisroel;
Ad-noy, his G-d, is with him,
and he has the King's friendship.
Verse 22: G-d Who has brought them out of Egypt,
has shown His great strength to them.
Verse 23: For, there is no
sorcery in Yaakov,
nor occult powers against Yisroel;
in due time it will be said to Yaakov and Yisroel,
'What has G-d done'?
Verse 24: Behold, a people
that rises like a young lion,
and lifts itself up like a lion;
he does not lie down until it devours its prey
and drinks the
blood of its kill."
Verse 25: Balak said to Bil'am:
"Also do not curse them,
also do not bless them."
Verse 26: Bil'am answered Balak and said:
"Did I not tell you that
all that Ad-noy tells me will I do."
Verse 27: Balak then said to Bil'am:
"Come, I will take you somewhere else,
perhaps G-d will consider it proper
and you
will curse them for me, from there."
Verse 28: Balak took Bil'am
to the peak of Pe'or
which overlooks the Yeshimon.
Verse 29: Bil'am said to Balak:
"Build seven altars for me here
and prepare for me
seven bulls and seven rams."
Verse 30: Balak did as Bil'am said,
and he sacrificed as a burnt-offering
a bull and a ram on each altar.
Chapter 24
Verse 1: When Bil'am saw
that it was favorable to Ad-noy
to bless Yisroel,
he did not
approach, as at each time,
towards sorcery;
but he set his face toward the wilderness.
Verse 2: Bil'am raised his eyes
and saw Israel encamped according to its tribes,
and the spirit of G-d rested upon him.
Verse 3: He set forth his
parable, and said:
"This is the declaration of Bil'am, the son of Be'or;
this is the declaration of the man
of the open-socketted eye.
Verse 4: This is the
declaration
of one who hears G-d's utterance,
who sees the vision of the Almighty;
fallen, with opened eyes.
Verse 5: How goodly are your tents, Yaakov,
your dwelling places, Yisroel.
Verse 6: They stretch forth
like streams,
like gardens by the river,
like the aloe trees that Ad-noy has planted;
like cedar trees by the water.
Verse 7: Water flows out
from his buckets,
and his seed will have an abundant flow;
his king will be greater than Agag
and his monarchy shall be uplifted.
Verse 8: G-d Who has brought him out of Egypt,
has shown His great strength to him;
He will consume His enemy nations,
crushing their bones
and dip His arrows
[in their blood].
Verse 9: He crouches and lies like a lion,
and, being a lion,
who would dare rouse him?
those who bless you are blessed,
and those who curse you are cursed."
Verse 10: Balak became enraged at Bil'am
and clapped his
hands together;
Balak then said to Bil'am:
"I called you to curse my enemies,
but you have blessed them these three times.
Verse 11: Now, hurry back home!
I said I would exceedingly honor you,
but Ad-noy has held you back from honor."
Verse 12: Bil'am said to Balak:
"Even to your emissaries
whom you sent to me I said:
Verse 13: 'Even if Balak would give me
his house full of silver and gold,
I cannot transgress the word of Ad-noy
to do good or evil on my own;'
only what Ad-noy declares will I speak.
Shevi'i (Seventh Aliyah)
Verse 14: And now that I am returning to my people,
come, I will advise you what this people will do
to your people
in the end of days."
Verse 15: He set forth his parable, and said:
"This is the declaration of Bil'am the son of Beor,
the declaration of the man.
of the open-sockered eye.
Verse 16: This is the declaration
of one who hears G-d's utterances
and knows the thoughts of the Most Exalted;
who sees the vision of the Almighty;
fallen, with opened eyes.
Verse 17: I see it but not now,
I perceive it
but not in the near future;
a star has gone forth from Yaakov,
and a staff has arisen from Yisroel,
which will smash the corners of Moav,
and impale all of the sons of Sheis.
Verse 18: Edom will be possession
and Seir shall
become the possession of his enemies;
but Yisroel will triumph.
Verse 19: A ruler shall come from Yaakov,
who will annihilate the survivors of the city."
Verse 20: When Bil'am saw Amalek,
he declared his parable, and said:
"Amalek was the first among nations,
and his end will be total destruction."
Verse 21: [When] he
saw the Keinite,
he set forth his parable, and said:
"How powerful is your dwelling place,
and set in a cliff your nest.
Verse 22: For, if Kayin is to be uprooted,
until where
will Ashur take you captive"?
Verse 23: He set forth his parable, and said:
"Alas! Who can survive from G-d's devastation?
Verse 24: Warships will come from Kittim
and destroy Ashur,
and cause suffering to those on the other side,
but they, too, shall be lost for eternity."
Verse 25:
Bil'am arose, went, and returned home;
and Balak too, went on his way.
Chapter 25
Verse 1: Yisroel settled in Shittim
and the people [of Yisroel] began
acting promiscuously with the daughters of Moav.
Verse 2: They [girls of Moav] invited
the people [of Yisroel]
to their idolatrous sacrifices;
and the people ate
and prostrated themselves before their gods.
Verse 3: Yisroel became
united with Ba'al Pe'or;
and the rage of Ad-noy flared against Yisroel.
Verse 4: Ad-noy said to Moshe:
"Take all the leaders of the people
and hang them before Ad-noy, facing the sun;
thereby removing the rage of Ad-noy
against Yisroel."
Verse 5: Moshe said to
the judges of Yisroel:
"Each of you must execute his men
who were united with Ba'al Pe'or."
Verse 6: And behold,
a man came from among Bnei Yisroel,
and brought the Midianite woman to his brethren,
before the eyes of Moshe
and before the eyes of the
entire congregation of Yisroel,
who were weeping
at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting.
Maftir
Verse 7: When he saw this---
Pinchas the son of Elazar
[and grand]son of Aharon the Kohein---
he rose up from the midst of the community
and took a spear in his hand.
Verse 8: He followed the Israelite man
into the inner chamber of the tent
and pierced both of them through---
the Israelite man
and the woman through her belly---
and the plague stopped
from [afflicting] the Bnei Yisroel.
Verse 9: Those that died in the plague,
[numbered] 24,000.
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