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Numbers 24:17
New American Standard Bible
Numbers 24:17
New American Standard Bible
17 I see him, but not now;
I look at him, but not near;
A star shall appear from Jacob,
(A)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(B)And shall smash the [a]forehead of Moab,
And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:17 Lit corners
Numbers 24:17
New International Version
Numbers 24:17
New International Version
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Numbers 24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter
- Numbers 24:17 Or all the noisy boasters
Numbers 24:17
Contemporary English Version
Numbers 24:17
Contemporary English Version
17 “What I saw in my vision
hasn't happened yet.
But someday, a king of Israel
will appear like a star.
He will wipe out you Moabites[a]
and destroy[b] those tribes
who live in the desert.[c]
Footnotes
- 24.17 you Moabites: Or “the territories of Moab.”
- 24.17 destroy: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Samaritan Hebrew Text “the skulls of.”
- 24.17 those tribes … desert: The Hebrew text has “the descendants of Sheth,” which probably refers to the people who lived in the desert areas of Canaan before the Israelites.
Numbers 24:17-19
The Message
Numbers 24:17-19
The Message
12-15 Balaam said to Balak, “Didn’t I tell you up front when you sent your emissaries, ‘Even if Balak gave me his palace stuffed with silver and gold, I couldn’t do anything on my own, whether good or bad, that went against God’s command’? I’m leaving for home and my people, but I warn you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” Then he spoke his oracle-message:
15-19 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
decree of the man with 20/20 vision,
Decree of the man who hears godly speech,
who knows what’s going on with the High God,
Who sees what The Strong God reveals,
who bows in worship and sees what’s real.
I see him, but not right now,
I perceive him, but not right here;
A star rises from Jacob
a scepter from Israel,
Crushing the heads of Moab,
the skulls of all the noisy windbags;
I see Edom sold off at auction,
enemy Seir marked down at the flea market,
while Israel walks off with the trophies.
A ruler is coming from Jacob
who’ll destroy what’s left in the city.
* * *
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New International Version (NIV) 
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Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson