Numbers 23:4–24:24
4 eAnd God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
5 Then the Lord fput a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he gtook up his 1oracle and said:
“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
h‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, idenounce Israel!’
8 “How jshall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! kA people dwelling alone,
lNot reckoning itself among the nations.
10 “Who mcan count the 2dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die nthe death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? oI took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”
12 So he answered and said, p“Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, qand built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I 3meet the Lord over there.”
16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and rput a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
18 Then he took up his oracle and said:
s“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 “God tis not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He usaid, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
vHe has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
21 “He whas not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen 4wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
xAnd the shout of a King is among them.
22 yGod brings them out of Egypt;
He has zstrength like a wild ox.
23 “For there is no 5sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any 6divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, awhat God has done!’
24 Look, a people rises blike a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
cIt shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”
26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, d‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that eoverlooks 7the wasteland. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.
24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at aother times, to seek to use 1sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel bencamped according to their tribes; and cthe Spirit of God came upon him.
3 dThen he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who efalls down, with eyes wide open:
5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
fLike aloes gplanted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be hin many waters.
“His king shall be higher than iAgag,
And his jkingdom shall be exalted.
8 “God kbrings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall lconsume the nations, his enemies;
He shall mbreak their bones
And npierce them with his arrows.
9 ‘He obows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’
p“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he qstruck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, r“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. sI said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, tI will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ulatter days.”
15 So he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
17 “I vsee Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
wA Star shall come out of Jacob;
xA Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And 2batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of 3tumult.
18 “And yEdom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does 4valiantly.
19 zOut of Jacob One 5shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”
20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”
21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”
23 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
24 But ships shall come from the coasts of aCyprus, 6
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict bEber,
And so shall 7Amalek, until he perishes.”