Numbers 24

Chapter 24

The Prophecy from Peor

¹When Balaam saw that it ¹pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to ²seek ^aomens but he set his face toward the ^bwilderness.

²And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel ¹camping tribe by tribe; and ^athe Spirit of God came upon him.

³He took up his ¹discourse and said,

“^aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;

⁴The oracle of him who ^ahears the ¹words of God,

Who sees the ^bvision of ²the Almighty,

Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

⁵How fair are your tents, O Jacob,

Your dwellings, O Israel!

⁶“Like ¹valleys that stretch out,

Like gardens beside the river,

Like ^aaloes planted by the Lord,

Like ^bcedars beside the waters.

⁷“Water will flow from his buckets,

And his seed will be by many waters,

And his king shall be higher than ^aAgag,

^bAnd his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸“^aGod brings him out of Egypt,

He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.

^bHe will devour the nations who are his adversaries,

And will crush their bones in pieces,

And shatter them with his ^carrows.

⁹“^aHe ¹couches, he lies down as a lion,

And as a ²lion, who ³dares rouse him?

^bBlessed is everyone who blesses you,

And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ¹hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

¹¹“Therefore, ¹flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.”

¹²Balaam said to Balak, “^aDid I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying,

¹³‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the ¹command of the Lord, either good or bad, ^aof my own ²accord. ^bWhat the Lord speaks, that I will speak’?

¹⁴“And now, behold, ^aI am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ¹days to come.”

¹⁵He took up his discourse and said,

“^aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

¹⁶The oracle of him who hears the ¹words of God,

And knows the knowledge of the ²Most High,

Who sees the vision of ³the Almighty,

Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.

¹⁷“I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near;

A star shall come forth from Jacob,

^aA scepter shall rise from Israel,

^bAnd shall crush through the ¹forehead of Moab,

And ²tear down all the sons of ³Sheth.

¹⁸“^aEdom shall be a possession,

^bSeir, its enemies, also will be a possession,

While Israel performs valiantly.

¹⁹“One from Jacob shall have dominion,

And will destroy the remnant from the city.”

²⁰And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first of the nations,

^aBut his end shall be ¹destruction.”

²¹And he looked at the ^aKenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Your dwelling place is enduring,

And your nest is set in the cliff.

²²“Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;

How long will ^aAsshur ¹keep you captive?”

²³Then he took up his discourse and said,

“Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?

²⁴“But ships shall come from the coast of ^aKittim,

And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict ^bEber;

^cSo they also will come to destruction.”

²⁵Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to ^ahis place, and Balak also went his way.