Numbers 24:1-9

New King James Version

Balaam Foretells the Happiness of Israel

24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at ^(A)other times, to seek to use ^[a]sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel ^(B)encamped according to their tribes; and ^(C)the Spirit of God came upon him.

³^(D)Then 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 ^(E)falls 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,
^(F)Like aloes ^(G)planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
⁷He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be ^(H)in many waters.

“His king shall be higher than ^(I)Agag,
And his ^(J)kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸“God^(K) brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall ^(L)consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall ^(M)break their bones
And ^(N)pierce them with his arrows.
⁹‘He^(O) bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’