Numbers 23:7–24:9

⁷when Balaam gave them this message:

“Balak brought me here from Aram;

the king of Moab brought me from the eastern mountains.

Balak said, ‘Come, put a curse on the people of Jacob for me.

Come, call down evil on the people of Israel.’

⁸But God has not cursed them,

so I cannot curse them.

The Lord has not called down evil on them,

so I cannot call down evil on them.

⁹I see them from the top of the mountains;

I see them from the hills.

I see a people who live alone,

who think they are different from other nations.

¹⁰No one can number the many people of Jacob,

and no one can count a fourth of Israel.

Let me die like good men,

and let me end up like them!”

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

¹²But Balaam answered, “I must say what the Lord tells me to say.”

Balaam’s Second Message

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place, where you can also see the people. But you can only see part of them, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴So Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim, on top of Mount Pisgah. There Balak built seven altars and offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.

¹⁵So Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering, and I will meet with God over there.”

¹⁶So the Lord came to Balaam and told him what to say. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and say such and such.”

¹⁷So Balaam went to Balak, where he and the leaders of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”

¹⁸Then Balaam gave this message:

“Stand up, Balak, and listen.

Hear me, son of Zippor.

¹⁹God is not a human being, and he will not lie.

He is not a human, and he does not change his mind.

What he says he will do, he does.

What he promises, he makes come true.

²⁰He told me to bless them,

so I cannot change the blessing.

²¹He has found no wrong in the people of Jacob;

he saw no fault in Israel.

The Lord their God is with them,

and they praise their King.

²²God brought them out of Egypt;

they are as strong as a wild ox.

²³No tricks will work on the people of Jacob,

and no magic will work against Israel.

People now say about them,

‘Look what God has done for Israel!’

²⁴The people rise up like a lioness;

they get up like a lion.

Lions don’t rest until they have eaten,

until they have drunk their enemies’ blood.”

²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, “You haven’t cursed these people, so at least don’t bless them!”

²⁶Balaam answered Balak, “I told you before that I can only do what the Lord tells me.”

Balaam’s Third Message

²⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, I will take you to another place. Maybe God will be pleased to let you curse them from there.” ²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, the mountain that looks over the desert.

²⁹Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare for me seven bulls and seven male sheep.” ³⁰Balak did what Balaam asked, and he offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.

24Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, so he did not try to use any magic but looked toward the desert. ²When Balaam saw the Israelites camped in their tribes, the Spirit of God took control of him, ³and he gave this message:

“This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,

the message of a man who sees clearly;

⁴this is the message of a man who hears the words of God.

I see a vision from the Almighty,

and my eyes are open as I fall before him.

⁵Your tents are beautiful, people of Jacob!

So are your homes, Israel!

⁶Your tents spread out like valleys,

like gardens beside a river.

They are like spices planted by the Lord,

like cedar trees growing by the water.

⁷Israel’s water buckets will always be full,

and their crops will have plenty of water.

Their king will be greater than Agag;

their kingdom will be very great.

⁸God brought them out of Egypt;

they are as strong as a wild ox.

They will defeat their enemies

and break their enemies’ bones;

they will shoot them with arrows.

⁹Like a lion, they lie waiting to attack;

like a lioness, no one would be brave enough to wake them.

Anyone who blesses you will be blessed,

and anyone who curses you will be cursed.”