The Prophecy from Peor

24 When Balaam saw that it [a]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to [b]seek (A)omens, rather he turned his [c]attention toward the (B)wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel [d]camping tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his discourse and said,

(D)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;
The declaration of him who (E)hears the [e]words of God,
Who sees the (F)vision of [f]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
How pleasant are your tents, Jacob,
Your dwelling places, Israel!
Like [g]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside a river,
Like (G)aloes planted by the Lord,
Like (H)cedars beside the waters.
Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be higher than (I)Agag,
(J)And his kingdom shall be exalted.
(K)God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
(L)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will crush their bones,
And smash them with his (M)arrows.
(N)He [h]crouches, he lies down like a lion,
And like a lioness, who [i]dares to rouse him?
(O)Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his [j]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! 11 So [k]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(P)Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the [l]command of the Lord, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [m]accord. (R)What the Lord speaks, I will [n]speak’? 14 So now, behold, (S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the [o]days to come.”

15 Then he took up his discourse and said,

(T)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened,
16 The declaration of him who hears the [p]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [q]Most High,
Who sees the vision of [r]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered:
17 I see him, but not now;
I look at him, but not near;
A star shall appear from Jacob,
(U)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(V)And shall smash the [s]forehead of Moab,
And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
18 (W)And Edom shall be a possession,
(X)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 One from Jacob shall rule,
And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”

20 And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first of the nations,
(Y)But his end shall be [t]destruction.”

21 And he looked at the (Z)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation;
How long will (AA)Asshur [u]keep you captive?”

23 Then he took up his discourse and said,

“Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of (AB)Kittim,
And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress (AC)Eber;
(AD)So they also will come to destruction.”

25 Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to (AE)his place, and Balak also went on his way.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 24:1 Lit was good in the eyes of
  2. Numbers 24:1 Lit encounter
  3. Numbers 24:1 Lit face
  4. Numbers 24:2 Lit dwelling
  5. Numbers 24:4 Lit sayings
  6. Numbers 24:4 Heb Shaddai
  7. Numbers 24:6 Or possibly palm trees
  8. Numbers 24:9 Lit bows down
  9. Numbers 24:9 Lit will
  10. Numbers 24:10 Lit palms
  11. Numbers 24:11 Lit flee for yourself
  12. Numbers 24:13 Lit mouth
  13. Numbers 24:13 Lit heart
  14. Numbers 24:13 Lit speak it
  15. Numbers 24:14 Lit end of the days
  16. Numbers 24:16 Lit sayings
  17. Numbers 24:16 Heb Elyon
  18. Numbers 24:16 Heb Shaddai
  19. Numbers 24:17 Lit corners
  20. Numbers 24:20 Lit to destruction
  21. Numbers 24:22 Lit take

Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

For the music director. A Song. A Psalm.

66 (A)Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
Sing the (B)glory of His name;
Make His (C)praise glorious.
Say to God, “How (D)awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will (E)pretend to obey You.
(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah

(H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of mankind.
He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
Let’s (L)rejoice there, in Him!
He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
The rebellious shall not (O)exalt themselves! Selah

Bless our God, you peoples,
And [a](P)sound His praise abroad,
Who [b](Q)keeps us in life,
And (R)does not allow our feet to [c]slip.
10 For You have (S)put us to the test, God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon [d]us.
12 You made men (V)ride over our heads;
We went through (W)fire and through water.
Yet You (X)brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall (Y)come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall (Z)pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was (AA)in distress.
15 I shall (AB)offer to You burnt offerings of fat animals,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [e]bulls with male goats. Selah

16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [f]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [g]He was (AF)exalted with my tongue.
18 If I [h](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord will not hear;
19 But (AI)God has heard;
He has given attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His favor from me.

The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.

For the music director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67 God be gracious to us and (AL)bless us,
And (AM)cause His face to shine [i]upon us— Selah
That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
May the (AP)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
May the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with fairness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah
May the (AT)peoples praise You, God;
May all the peoples praise You.
The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
God blesses us,
[j]So that (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 66:8 Lit cause to hear the sound of His praise
  2. Psalm 66:9 Lit puts our soul in life
  3. Psalm 66:9 Or dodder, stumble
  4. Psalm 66:11 Lit our loins
  5. Psalm 66:15 Or cattle
  6. Psalm 66:16 Or revere
  7. Psalm 66:17 Or praise was under my tongue
  8. Psalm 66:18 Or had regarded
  9. Psalm 67:1 Lit with
  10. Psalm 67:7 Or And let all...earth fear Him

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