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Numbers 24:15-24
The Message
Numbers 24:15-24
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.
* * *
20 Then Balaam spotted Amalek and delivered an oracle-message. He said,
Amalek, you’re in first place among nations right now,
but you’re going to come in last, ruined.
* * *
21-22 He saw the Kenites and delivered his oracle-message to them:
Your home is in a nice secure place,
like a nest high on the face of a cliff.
Still, you Kenites will look stupid
when Asshur takes you prisoner.
* * *
23-24 Balaam spoke his final oracle-message:
Doom! Who stands a chance
when God starts in?
Sea-Peoples, raiders from across the sea,
will harass Asshur and Eber,
But they’ll also come to nothing,
just like all the rest.
Numbers 24:15-24
New International Version
Numbers 24:15-24
New International Version
Balaam’s Fourth Message
15 Then he spoke his message:
“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
16 the prophecy of one who hears the words(A) of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,(B)
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.(C)
A star will come out of Jacob;(D)
a scepter will rise out of Israel.(E)
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,(F)
the skulls[a](G) of[b] all the people of Sheth.[c]
18 Edom(H) will be conquered;
Seir,(I) his enemy, will be conquered,(J)
but Israel(K) will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob(L)
and destroy the survivors of the city.”
Balaam’s Fifth Message
20 Then Balaam saw Amalek(M) and spoke his message:
“Amalek was first among the nations,
but their end will be utter destruction.”(N)
Balaam’s Sixth Message
21 Then he saw the Kenites(O) and spoke his message:
“Your dwelling place is secure,(P)
your nest is set in a rock;
22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed
when Ashur(Q) takes you captive.”
Balaam’s Seventh Message
23 Then he spoke his message:
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 24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.