231 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 2 And Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered up a bullock and a ram on [each] altar. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; perhaps Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatever he shews me I will tell thee. And he went to a hill. 4 And God met Balaam; and [Balaam] said to him, I have disposed seven altars, and have offered up a bullock and a ram upon [each] altar. 5 And Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shalt thou speak. 6 And he returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, curse me Jacob, and come, denounce Israel! 8 How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I denounce whom Jehovah doth not denounce? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: Lo, [it is] a people that shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his! 11 And Balak said to Balaam, What hast thou done to me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. 12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah puts in my mouth?

13 And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from whence thou wilt see them; thou shalt see only the extremity of them and shalt not see them all, and curse me them from thence. 14 And he took him to the watchmen's field, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on [each] altar. 15 And [Balaam] said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, and I will go to meet yonder. 16 And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shalt thou speak. 17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him; and Balak said to him, What has Jehovah spoken? 18 Then he took up his parable and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear! hearken unto me, son of Zippor! 19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither a son of man, that he should repent. Shall he say and not do? and shall he speak and not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received [mission] to bless; and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen wrong in Israel; Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is in his midst. 22 God brought him out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a buffalo. 23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. At this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! 24 Lo, the people will rise up as a lioness, and lift himself up as a lion. He shall not lie down until he have eaten the prey and drunk the blood of the slain. 25 And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 26 And Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Jehovah shall speak, that will I do? 27 And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee to another place; perhaps it will be right in the sight of God that thou curse me them from thence. 28 And Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, which looks over the surface of the waste. 29 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on each altar.

241 And Balaam saw that it was good in the sight of Jehovah to bless Israel, and he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling [in tents] according to his tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, and the man of opened eye saith, 4 He saith, who heareth the words of God, who seeth the vision of the Almighty, who falleth down, and who hath his eyes open: 5 How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Israel! 6 Like valleys are they spread forth, like gardens by the river side, Like aloe-trees which Jehovah hath planted, like cedars beside the waters. 7 Water shall flow out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in great waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brought him out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a buffalo. He shall consume the nations his enemies, and break their bones, and with his arrows shall smite [them] in pieces. 9 He stooped, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness: who will stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

Balaam's Prophecy

10 Then Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed [them] these three times! 11 And now flee thou to thy place; I said I would very highly honour thee, and behold, Jehovah has kept thee back from honour. 12 And Balaam said to Balak, Did I not also speak to thy messengers whom thou sentest to me, saying, 13 If Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the commandment of Jehovah to do good or bad out of my heart: what Jehovah shall say, that will I speak? 14 And now behold, I go to my people: come, I will admonish thee what this people will do to thy people at the end of days.

15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, and the man of opened eye saith, 16 He saith, who heareth the words of God, who knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, who falleth down, and who hath his eyes open: 17 I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh: There cometh a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and he shall cut in pieces the corners of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, and Seir a possession,—they, his enemies; but Israel will do valiantly. 19 And one out of Jacob shall have dominion, and will destroy out of the city what remaineth. 20 And he saw Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek is the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be for destruction. 21 And he saw the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Firm is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest fixed in the rock; 22 But the Kenite shall be consumed, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. 23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas! Who shall live when God doeth this? 24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and afflict Asshur, and afflict Eber, and he also shall be for destruction. 25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.

Israel Worships Baal-peor

251 And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to commit fornication with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself to Baal-Peor; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel. 4 And Jehovah said to Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up to Jehovah before the sun, that the fierce anger of Jehovah may be turned away from Israel. 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Slay every one his men that have joined themselves to Baal-Peor.

6 And behold, a man of the children of Israel came and brought a Midianitish woman to his brethren, in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of the whole assembly of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, and rose up from among the assembly, and took a javelin in his hand, 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent-chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. And the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. 10 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace! 13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel. 14 And the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, the prince of a father's house of the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was tribal head of a father's house in Midian.

16 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 17 Harass the Midianites, and smite them, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague because of the matter of Peor.

14 And having called again the crowd, he said to them, Hear me, all [of you], and understand: 15 There is nothing from outside a man entering into him which can defile him; but the things which go out from him, those it is which defile the man. 16 If any one have ears to hear, let him hear. 17 And when he went indoors from the crowd, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. 18 And he says to them, Are ye also thus unintelligent? Do ye not perceive that all that is outside entering into the man cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter into his heart but into his belly, and goes out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which goes forth out of the man, that defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, go forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickednesses, deceit, licentiousness, a wicked eye, injurious language, haughtiness, folly; 23 all these wicked things go forth from within and defile the man.

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

24 And he rose up and went away thence into the borders of Tyre and Sidon; and having entered into a house he would not have any one know [it], and he could not be hid. 25 But immediately a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell at his feet 26 (and the woman was a Greek, Syrophenician by race), and asked him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But [Jesus] said to her, Suffer the children to be first filled; for it is not right to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. 28 But she answered and says to him, Yea, Lord; for even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. 29 And he said to her, Because of this word, go thy way, the demon is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And having gone away to her house she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Dumb Man

31 And again having left the borders of Tyre and Sidon, he came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring to him a deaf [man] who could not speak right, and they beseech him that he might lay his hand on him. 33 And having taken him away from the crowd apart, he put his fingers to his ears; and having spit, he touched his tongue; 34 and looking up to heaven he groaned, and says to him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And immediately his ears were opened, and the band of his tongue was loosed and he spoke right. 36 And he charged them that they should speak to no one [of it]. But so much the more he charged them, so much the more abundantly they proclaimed it; 37 and they were astonished above measure, saying, He does all things well; he makes both the deaf to hear, and the speechless to speak.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Mark 7:14-37

Commentary on Mark 7:14-23

(Read Mark 7:14-23)

Our wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions, defile us, and these only. As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions that come from them. A spiritual understanding of the law of God, and a sense of the evil of sin, will cause a man to seek for the grace of the Holy Spirit, to keep down the evil thoughts and affections that work within.

Commentary on Mark 7:24-30

(Read Mark 7:24-30)

Christ never put any from him that fell at his feet, which a poor trembling soul may do. As she was a good woman, so a good mother. This sent her to Christ. His saying, Let the children first be filled, shows that there was mercy for the Gentiles, and not far off. She spoke, not as making light of the mercy, but magnifying the abundance of miraculous cures among the Jews, in comparison with which a single cure was but as a crumb. Thus, while proud Pharisees are left by the blessed Saviour, he manifests his compassion to poor humbled sinners, who look to him for children's bread. He still goes about to seek and save the lost.

Commentary on Mark 7:31-37

(Read Mark 7:31-37)

Here is a cure of one that was deaf and dumb. Those who brought this poor man to Christ, besought him to observe the case, and put forth his power. Our Lord used more outward actions in the doing of this cure than usual. These were only signs of Christ's power to cure the man, to encourage his faith, and theirs that brought him. Though we find great variety in the cases and manner of relief of those who applied to Christ, yet all obtained the relief they sought. Thus it still is in the great concerns of our souls.