Numbers 24

24Now 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. ²And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel ^bencamped according to their tribes; and ^cthe Spirit of God came upon him.

^3dThen he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,

The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,

⁴The 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!

⁶Like valleys that stretch out,

Like gardens by the riverside,

^fLike aloes ^gplanted by the Lord,

Like cedars beside the waters.

⁷He 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.”

¹⁰Then 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! ¹¹Now therefore, flee to your place. ^sI said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

¹²So 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’? ¹⁴And 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.”

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

¹⁵So 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;

¹⁶The 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.

^19zOut of Jacob One ⁵shall have dominion,

And destroy the remains of the city.”

²⁰Then 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.”

²¹Then 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;

²²Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.

How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”

²³Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?

²⁴But ships shall come from the coasts of ^aCyprus, ⁶

And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict ^bEber,

And so shall ⁷Amalek, until he perishes.”

²⁵So Balaam rose and departed and ^creturned to his place; Balak also went his way.