My people, remember, I ask you, what Balak the king of Moab planned, and how Balaam the son of Beor responded to him, from Shittim even to Gilgal, so that you may know the justice of the Lord.
Rescue me, and deliver me from the hand of the sons of foreigners. Their mouth has been speaking vain things, and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.
Are not these the ones who deceived the sons of Israel at the suggestion of Balaam, and who caused you betray the Lord by the sin of Peor, because of which the people also were struck down?
And they put to death by the sword their kings: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five leaders of the nation, and also Balaam the son of Beor.
Because of this, be mindful that, in times past, you were Gentiles in the flesh, and that you were called uncircumcised by those who are called circumcised in the flesh, something done by man,
You shall not eat it with leavened bread. For seven days you shall eat, without leaven, the bread of affliction. For you departed from Egypt in fear. So may you remember the day of your departure from Egypt, throughout all the days of your life.
But remember the Lord your God, that he himself has provided you with strength, so that he may fulfill his covenant, about which he swore to your fathers, just as the present day reveals.
And you shall remember the entire journey along which the Lord your God led you, for forty years through the desert, to afflict you, and to test you, and to make known the things that were turning in your soul, whether or not you would keep his commandments.
Remember, and never forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness. You have always contended against the Lord, from the day that you went forth from Egypt, even to this place.
And so Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim to explore in secret. And he said to them, "Go and consider the land and the city of Jericho." And while traveling, they entered into the house of a harlot woman named Rahab, and they rested with her.
And so, Joshua arose in the night, and he moved the camp. And they departed from Shittim, and they went to the Jordan: he, and all the sons of Israel, and they remained there for three days.
Now the people ascended from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal, opposite the eastern portion of the city of Jericho.
Woe to them! For they have gone after the way of Cain, and they have poured out the error of Balaam for profit, and they have perished in the sedition of Korah.
But I have a few things against you. For you have, in that place, those who hold to the doctrine of Balaam, who instructed Balak to cast a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat and to commit fornication.
Or are you, perhaps, better than Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Or are you able to explain what his argument was against Israel, and why he fought against him?
Where the chariots were struck together, and the army of the enemies was choked, in that place, let the justices of the Lord be described, and let his clemency be for the brave of Israel. Then did the people of the Lord descend to the gates, and obtain leadership.
Now therefore, stand, so that I may contend in judgment against you before the Lord, about all the mercies of the Lord, which he has given to you and to your fathers: