NUMBERS
CHAPTER 24

¹ Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert. ² When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him ³ and he uttered his oracle:

"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
⁴ the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty, ^[1]
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

⁵ "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwelling places, O Israel!

⁶ "Like valleys they spread out,
like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the LORD ,
like cedars beside the waters.
⁷ Water will flow from their buckets;
their seed will have abundant water.

"Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.

⁸ "God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
and break their bones in pieces;
with their arrows they pierce them.
⁹ Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness-who dares to rouse them?

"May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!"

¹⁰ Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded."
¹² Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ¹³ 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD -and I must say only what the LORD says'? ¹⁴ Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."


Balaam's Fourth Oracle
¹⁵ Then he uttered his oracle:

"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
¹⁶ the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

¹⁷ "I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls ^[2] of ^[3] all the sons of Sheth. ^[4]
18 Edom will be conquered;
Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
but Israel will grow strong.
¹⁹ A ruler will come out of Jacob
and destroy the survivors of the city."



Balaam's Final Oracles
²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle:

"Amalek was first among the nations,
but he will come to ruin at last."

²¹ Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle:

"Your dwelling place is secure,
your nest is set in a rock;
²² yet you Kenites will be destroyed
when Asshur takes you captive."

²³ Then he uttered his oracle:

"Ah, who can live when God does this? ^[5]
24 Ships will come from the shores of Kittim;
they will subdue Asshur and Eber,
but they too will come to ruin."

²⁵ Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.

Footnotes

1. 24:4 Hebrew Shaddai ; also in verse 16
2. 24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
3. 24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter
4. 24:17 Or all the noisy boasters
5. 24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew A people will gather from the north .

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Bible text from Gospelcom.net.  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

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