Numbers 22-24
Evangelical Heritage Version
Balak Hires Balaam
22 The Israelites set out and camped on the Plains of Moab along the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Balak son of Zippor saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 So Moab was afraid of the people, because they were so numerous. Moab was terrified because of the Israelites. 4 Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this assembly will eat up everything around us, just as cattle eat up the grass in the field.”
Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5 He sent messengers to summon Balaam, the son of Beor, from Pethor by the Euphrates River, in the land of his own people.[a]
He said, “Look, a people came out of Egypt. They cover the surface of the land, and they are settling right across from me. 6 Please come now. Curse this people for me, for they are more powerful than I am. Perhaps I will succeed and strike them down, driving them out of the land, for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”
7 The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went with payments for his occult practices[b] in their hand. They came to Balaam and told him what Balak said.
8 Balaam said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will report to you what the Lord says to me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with Balaam.
9 God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent messengers to me, who said, 11 ‘Look, the people that has come out of Egypt covers the surface of the land. Now, come, curse them for me. Perhaps I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”
12 God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse the people, for they are blessed.”
13 Balaam got up in the morning and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your land, because the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
14 The officials of Moab got up and went back to Balak. They said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
15 So Balak again sent other officials, more numerous and more prestigious than the others. 16 They went to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says, ‘Do not let anything prevent you from coming to me, 17 for I will reward you very richly. Also I will do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse this people for me.’”
18 Balaam responded to Balak’s servants, “Even if Balak would give to me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great. 19 But please, stay and spend the night here, and I will find out what else the Lord might say to me.”
20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them. However, do only what I tell you.” 21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.
Balaam’s Donkey
22 But God’s anger burned because Balaam was going with them. So the Angel[c] of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand. So the donkey turned off the road and went into the field. Balaam struck the donkey to make it turn back to the road. 24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards with walls on both sides. 25 The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord and pressed against the wall and squeezed Balaam’s foot against the wall. Balaam struck the donkey again. 26 Then the Angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or to the left. 27 The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord and lay down under Balaam. Balaam’s anger burned, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, which said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?”
29 Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! If only there was a sword in my hand, I would kill you now!”
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, the one you have always ridden to this day? Is this what I usually do to you?”
He said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt and bowed with his face to the ground. 32 The Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Look, I myself have come out to oppose you, because your way is reckless[d] before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, I would have surely killed you by now and let the donkey live.”
34 Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I didn’t know that you stood in the road to confront me. Now if this is displeasing to you, I will go back.”
35 The Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you will speak only the words that I speak to you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
Balak Meets Balaam
36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border at the edge of his territory. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Didn’t I send for you urgently when I summoned you? Why didn’t you come to me? Don’t you know that I can really reward you?”
38 Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you now. But am I really able to say anything? I will speak only the words that God puts in my mouth.”
39 Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and sent for Balaam and the officials who were with him. 41 In the morning, Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth Baal. From there, he saw the outskirts of the people.
Balaam’s First Message
23 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
2 Balak did just as Balaam had said. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I go off by myself. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” ⎣So Balak went and stood by his burnt offering, and Balaam called to God⎦[e] and then he went off to a barren hill.
4 God met Balaam, and Balaam said to him, “I have set up seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.”
5 The Lord put a message into Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you are to deliver this message.”
6 Balaam returned to Balak and found him standing by his burnt offering, along with all the officials of Moab. 7 Balaam took up his oracle. He said:
From Aram, Balak has brought me.
Balak, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains, said,
“Come, curse Jacob for me.
Come, denounce Israel.”
8 How can I curse someone God has not cursed?
How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced?
9 Yes, from the rocky peaks I see him.
From the hills I look at him.
Look! A people that dwells apart,
that does not consider itself to be one of the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number even a fourth of Israel?
May I die the death of the righteous!
May my final end be like his!
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have just blessed them.”
12 Balaam answered, “Don’t I have to speak accurately whatever the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Message
13 Balak said to Balaam, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will see only their outskirts. You will not see all of them. From there curse them for me.”
14 Balak took Balaam into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. Balak built seven altars and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.”
16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. The Lord said, “Return to Balak, and you are to deliver this message.”
17 Balaam came back to Balak and found him standing by his burnt offering, and the officials of Moab were with him. Balak said to him, “What did the Lord say?”
18 Balaam took up his oracle and said:
Get up, Balak, and listen!
Give ear to me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he changes his mind.
Does he say something, and then not carry it out?
Does he speak, and then not bring it about?
20 Look, I have received a command to bless.
He has blessed, and I cannot change that.
21 No disaster is in sight for Jacob.
No suffering is seen in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him.
The shout for the King is among them.
He rejoices in his King.
22 God brings them out of Egypt.
God is like the horns of a wild ox for him.
23 Surely there is no occult power against Jacob,
no omen against Israel.
They will say about Jacob and Israel,
“What great things God has done!”
24 Look, the people rise up like a lioness.
Like a lion they lift themselves up.
He will not lie down until he eats the prey,
until he drinks the blood of the slain.
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all! Do not bless them at all!”
26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I say to you that I must do everything the Lord says?”
Balaam’s Third Message
27 Balak said to Balaam, “Come on, I will take you to another place. Maybe God will agree to let you curse them for me from there.”
28 Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. 29 Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30 Balak did just as Balaam had said and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to look for omens as he had done at the other times, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, the Spirit of God was upon him. 3 He took up his oracle and said:
The declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eye is open,
4 the declaration of the one who hears the words of God,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
who is falling down, but his eyes are wide open:
5 How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
and your dwelling places, O Israel!
6 Like rows of palm trees[f] they stretch out,
like gardens by the riverside,
like aloes which the Lord has planted,
like cedar trees beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from his buckets.
His seed[g] will have abundant waters.
His king will be higher than Agag.
His kingdom will be lifted up.
8 God brings him out of Egypt.
God is like the horns of a wild ox for him.
He will eat up the nations who are his adversaries.
He will gnaw on their bones.
He will pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He crouches like a lion.
He lies down like a lioness.
Who will rouse him?
The one who blesses you is blessed.
The one who curses you is cursed.
10 Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he slapped his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but look, all you have done is bless them these three times. 11 Now get out of here. Go to your own place! I said I would really reward you, but look, the Lord has denied you a reward.”
12 Balaam said to Balak, “Didn’t I tell the messengers you sent to me, ‘I will say what the Lord says. 13 Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go against the command of the Lord by doing anything good or bad of my own will’?[h] 14 Yes, I am going back to my people, but pay attention now—I will tell you what this people will do to your people in days to come.”
Balaam’s Fourth Message
15 Balaam took up his oracle and said:
The declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eye is open,
16 the declaration of the one who hears the words of God,
who receives knowledge from the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
who is falling down, but his eyes are wide open:
17 I see him, but not now.
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob.
A scepter will rise up out of Israel.
It will smash the foreheads of Moab
and the skulls[i] of all the people of Sheth.
18 Edom will lose its territory to others.
Seir, Israel’s enemy, also will become a possession,
but Israel will display its power.
19 One who comes from Jacob will rule,
and he will destroy the survivors of the city.
Balaam’s Final Messages
20 He looked at Amalek, took up his oracle, and said:
First among the nations was Amalek,
but his end will come to destruction.
21 He looked at the Kenites, took up his oracle, and said:
Permanent is your dwelling place.
Set in stone is your nest.
22 However, you Kenites will be destroyed,
when Ashshur takes you captive.
23 He took up his oracle and said:
Ah, who will live when God does this?
24 But ships will come from the coast of Kittim.
They will oppress Ashshur.
They will oppress Eber.
But they also will come to destruction.[j]
25 Balaam got up and left to return to his place. Balak also went on his way.
Footnotes
- Numbers 22:5 Or in the land of Amaw
- Numbers 22:7 This is often translated divination, but divination refers primarily to obtaining occult knowledge. Balak was seeking the exercise of occult power.
- Numbers 22:22 Or angel of the Lord
- Numbers 22:32 Literally the way is precipitous
- Numbers 23:3 The words in half-brackets are not in the Hebrew text but are present in the Greek Old Testament. An accidental omission from the Hebrew text may have occurred as the scribe’s eye jumped from one occurrence of he went to another.
- Numbers 24:6 Or streams
- Numbers 24:7 Here seed may refer both to literal seed and to offspring.
- Numbers 24:13 Literally of my heart
- Numbers 24:17 The translation follows the Samaritan Pentateuch, which has a clearer word than the rare word in the main Hebrew text, which could, in fact, be a copying error.
- Numbers 24:24 All the nations named in this oracle appear to be local neighbors of the Israelites near the time of Moses. Ashshur is not Assyria but the local Ashshur referred to in Genesis 25:3. The Kittim probably are the Philistines, not the Romans, who are also called Kittim. However, the principle stated in the oracle applies to the later enemies as well. All the nations of the world are subjected to the Messiah.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.