Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor; the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;

the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, although falling flat on the ground with eyes open:

Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor; the oracle of the man whose eyes are open;

set him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him publicly.

I thought this was a good idea, so I sent twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

And he brought signs and great, devastating wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on his whole family before our very eyes.

I grabbed the two tablets, threw them down, and shattered them before your very eyes.

I am speaking to you because you are the ones who saw all the great deeds of the Lord!

You must not do like we are doing here today, with everyone doing what seems best to him,

You must not eat it so that it may go well with you and your children after you; you will be doing what is right in the Lord’s sight.

You are children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald for the sake of the dead.

You must not pity him, but purge out the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

Then they must proclaim, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we witnessed the crime.

In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before the Lord.

Your eyes have seen the great judgments, those signs and mighty wonders.

The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye.

Moses was 120 years old when he died, but his eye was not dull nor had his vitality departed.

and he displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel.

So now we are in your power. Do to us what you think is good and appropriate.

The Israelites did evil before the Lord by worshiping the Baals.