Numbers 23–24

Balaam’s Oracles

23Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ⁿ²So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ³Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord ^owill meet with me. I will tell you whatever He reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill.

⁴God ^pmet with him and Balaam said to Him, “I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” ⁵Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”

⁶So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.

Balaam’s First Oracle

⁷Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak brought me from Aram; ^q

the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains:

“Come, put a curse on Jacob for me;

come, denounce Israel!” ^r

⁸How can I curse someone God has not cursed?

How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced?

⁹I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,

and I watch them from the hills.

There is a people living alone; ^s

it does not consider itself among the nations.

¹⁰Who has counted the dust of Jacob ^t

or numbered the dust clouds ^uof Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright;

let the end of my life be like theirs.

¹¹“What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!”

¹²He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?” ^v

Balaam’s Second Oracle

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place ^wwhere you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.” ¹⁴So Balak took him to Lookout Field ^xon top of Pisgah, ^ybuilt seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.”

¹⁶The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.”

¹⁷So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

¹⁸Balaam proclaimed his poem:

Balak, get up and listen;

son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!

¹⁹God is not a man who lies,

or a son of man who changes His mind. ^z

Does He speak and not act,

or promise and not fulfill? ^a

²⁰I have indeed received a command to bless;

since He has blessed, ^bI cannot change it.

²¹He considers no disaster for Jacob;

He sees no trouble for Israel. ^c

The Lord their God is with them, ^d

and there is rejoicing over the King among them.

²²God brought them out of Egypt;

He is like the horns of a wild ox for them. ^ef

²³There is no magic curse against Jacob

and no divination against Israel.

It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,

“What great things God has done!”

²⁴A people rise up like a lioness;

They rouse themselves like a lion. ^g

They will not lie down until they devour the prey

and drink the blood of the slain.

²⁵Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!”

²⁶But Balaam answered him, “Didn’t I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?” ^h

Balaam’s Third Oracle

²⁷Again Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there.” ²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. ^ij

²⁹Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ^k30So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

24Since Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to seek omens as on previous occasions, but turned ^ltoward the wilderness. ²When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God ^mcame on him, ³and he proclaimed his poem:

The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened, ⁿ

⁴the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God,

who sees a vision from the Almighty, ^o

who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:

⁵How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,

your dwellings, Israel.

⁶They stretch out like river valleys, ^p

like gardens beside a stream,

like aloes the Lord has planted,

like cedars beside the water.

⁷Water will flow from his buckets,

and his seed will be by abundant water.

His king will be greater than Agag, ^qr

and his kingdom will be exalted.

⁸God brought him out of Egypt;

He is like ^sthe horns of a wild ox for them. ^t

He will feed on enemy nations

and gnaw their bones;

he will strike them with his arrows.

⁹He crouches, he lies down like a lion

or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? ^u

Those who bless you will be blessed,

and those who curse you will be cursed. ^v

¹⁰Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, “I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹Now go to your home! I said I would reward you richly, ^wbut look, the Lord has denied you a reward.”

¹²Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me: ¹³If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says. ^x14Now I am going back to my people, but first, let me warn you what these people will do to your people in the future.”

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

¹⁵Then he proclaimed his poem:

The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened; ^y

¹⁶the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God

and has knowledge from the Most High,

who sees a vision from the Almighty,

who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered: ^z

¹⁷I see him, ^abut not now;

I perceive him, ^bbut not near.

A star will come from Jacob,

and a scepter will arise from Israel. ^c

He will smash the forehead ^dof Moab

and strike down ^eall the Shethites. ^f

¹⁸Edom will become a possession;

Seir ^gwill become a possession of its enemies,

but Israel will be triumphant.

¹⁹One who comes from Jacob will rule;

he will destroy the city’s survivors.

²⁰Then Balaam saw Amalek and proclaimed his poem:

Amalek was first among the nations, ^h

but his future is destruction.

²¹Next he saw the Kenites and proclaimed his poem:

Your dwelling place is enduring;

your nest is set in the cliffs.

²²Kain will be destroyed

when Asshur takes you captive.

²³Once more he proclaimed his poem:

Ah, who can live when God does this?

²⁴Ships will come from the coast of Kittim; ⁱ

they will afflict Asshur and Eber, ^j

but they too will come to destruction.

²⁵Balaam then arose and went back to his homeland, and Balak also went his way.