Numbers 24

24Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,^f he did not resort to divination^g as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness.^{h 2}When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him^{i 3}and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,

the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,^j

⁴the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,^k

who sees a vision from the Almighty,^al

who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

⁵“How beautiful are your tents,^m Jacob,

your dwelling places, Israel!

⁶“Like valleys they spread out,

like gardens beside a river,ⁿ

like aloes^o planted by the Lord,

like cedars beside the waters.^p

⁷Water will flow from their buckets;

their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;^q

their kingdom will be exalted.^r

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;^s

with their arrows they pierce them.^t

⁹Like a lion they crouch and lie down,

like a lioness^u—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed^v

and those who curse you be cursed!”^w

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger burned^x against Balaam. He struck his hands together^y and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies,^z but you have blessed them^a these three times.^{b 11}Now leave at once and go home!^c I said I would reward you handsomely,^d but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

¹²Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,^{e 13}‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord^f—and I must say only what the Lord says’?^{g 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.”^h

Balaam’s Fourth Message

¹⁵Then he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,

the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,

¹⁶the prophecy of one who hears the wordsⁱ of God,

who has knowledge from the Most High,^j

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.^k

A star will come out of Jacob;^l

a scepter will rise out of Israel.^m

He will crush the foreheads of Moab,ⁿ

the skulls^bo of^c all the people of Sheth.^d

¹⁸Edom^p will be conquered;

Seir,^q his enemy, will be conquered,^r

but Israel^s will grow strong.

¹⁹A ruler will come out of Jacob^t

and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

²⁰Then Balaam saw Amalek^u and spoke his message:

“Amalek was first among the nations,

but their end will be utter destruction.”^v

Balaam’s Sixth Message

²¹Then he saw the Kenites^w and spoke his message:

“Your dwelling place is secure,^x

your nest is set in a rock;

²²yet you Kenites will be destroyed

when Ashur^y takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

²³Then he spoke his message:

“Alas! Who can live when God does this?^e

²⁴Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;^z

they will subdue Ashur^a and Eber,^b

but they too will come to ruin.^c”

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