Numbers 24
Christian Standard Bible
24 Since Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to seek omens as on previous occasions, but turned[a] toward the wilderness. 2 When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God(A) came on him, 3 and he proclaimed his poem:
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,(B)
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:
5 How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
your dwellings, Israel.
6 They stretch out like river valleys,[b]
like gardens beside a stream,
like aloes the Lord has planted,
like cedars beside the water.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
and his seed will be by abundant water.
His king will be greater than Agag,(C)
and his kingdom will be exalted.
8 God brought him out of Egypt;
he is like[c] the horns of a wild ox for them.(D)
He will feed on enemy nations
and gnaw their bones;
he will strike them with his arrows.
9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion
or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?(E)
Those who bless you will be blessed,
and those who curse you will be cursed.(F)
10 Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, “I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Now go to your home! I said I would reward you richly,(G) but look, the Lord has denied you a reward.”
12 Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me: 13 If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says.(H) 14 Now I am going back to my people, but first, let me warn you what these people will do to your people in the future.”
Balaam’s Fourth Oracle
15 Then he proclaimed his poem:
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God
and has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:(I)
17 I see him, but not now;
I perceive him, but not near.
A star will come from Jacob,
and a scepter will arise from Israel.(J)
He will smash the forehead[d] of Moab
and strike down[e] all the Shethites.[f]
18 Edom will become a possession;
Seir(K) will become a possession of its enemies,
but Israel will be triumphant.
19 One who comes from Jacob will rule;
he will destroy the city’s survivors.
20 Then Balaam saw Amalek and proclaimed his poem:
Amalek was first among the nations,(L)
but his future is destruction.
21 Next he saw the Kenites and proclaimed his poem:
Your dwelling place is enduring;
your nest is set in the cliffs.
22 Kain will be destroyed
when Asshur takes you captive.
23 Once more he proclaimed his poem:
Ah, who can live when God does this?
24 Ships will come from the coast of Kittim;(M)
they will carry out raids against Asshur and Eber,(N)
but they too will come to destruction.
25 Balaam then arose and went back to his homeland, and Balak also went his way.
Numbers 24
Good News Translation
24 By now Balaam knew that the Lord wanted him to bless the people of Israel, so he did not go to look for omens, as he had done before. He turned toward the desert 2 and saw the people of Israel camped tribe by tribe. The spirit of God took control of him, 3 and he uttered this prophecy:
“The message of Balaam son of Beor,
The words of the man who can see clearly,[a]
4 Who can hear what God is saying.
With staring eyes I see in a trance
A vision from Almighty God.
5 The tents of Israel are beautiful,
6 Like long rows of palms
Or gardens beside a river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord
Or cedars beside the water.
7 They will have abundant rainfall
And plant their seed in well-watered fields.[b]
Their king shall be greater than Agag,
And his rule shall be extended far and wide.
8 God brought them out of Egypt;
He fights for them like a wild ox.
They devour their enemies,
Crush their bones, smash their arrows.
9 (A)The nation is like a mighty lion;
When it is sleeping, no one dares wake it.
Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed,
And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.”
10 Balak clenched his fists in anger and said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but three times now you have blessed them instead. 11 Now get on home! I promised to reward you, but the Lord has kept you from getting the reward.”
12 Balaam answered, “I told the messengers you sent to me that 13 even if you gave me all the silver and gold in your palace, I could not disobey the command of the Lord by doing anything of myself. I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.”
Balaam's Final Prophecies
14 Balaam said to Balak, “Now I am going back to my own people, but before I go, I am warning you what the people of Israel will do to your people in the future.” 15 Then he uttered this prophecy:
“The message of Balaam son of Beor,
The words of the man who can see clearly,[c]
16 Who can hear what God is saying
And receive the knowledge that comes from the Most High.
With staring eyes I see in a trance
A vision from Almighty God.
17 I look into the future,
And I see the nation of Israel.
A king, like a bright star, will arise in that nation.
Like a comet he will come from Israel.
He will strike the leaders of Moab
And beat down all the people of Seth.[d]
18 He will conquer his enemies in Edom
And make their land his property,
While Israel continues victorious.
19 The nation of Israel will trample them down
And wipe out the last survivors.”
20 Then in his vision Balaam saw the Amalekites and uttered this prophecy:
“Amalek was the most powerful nation of all,
But at the end it will perish forever.”
21 In his vision he saw the Kenites, and uttered this prophecy:
“The place where you live is secure,
Safe as a nest set high on a cliff,
22 But you Kenites will be destroyed
When Assyria takes you captive.”[e]
23 Balaam uttered this prophecy:
“Who are these people gathering in the north?[f]
24 Invaders will sail from Cyprus;
They will conquer Assyria and Eber,
But they, in turn, will perish forever.”
25 Then Balaam got ready and went back home, and Balak went on his way.
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:3 who can see clearly; or whose eyes are closed.
- Numbers 24:7 One ancient translation They … fields; Hebrew unclear.
- Numbers 24:15 who can see clearly; or whose eyes are closed.
- Numbers 24:17 the people of Seth; or who are proud and violent.
- Numbers 24:22 Verse 22 in Hebrew is unclear.
- Numbers 24:23 Probable text Who … north; Hebrew unclear.
Numbers 24
Legacy Standard Bible
Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam
24 And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to [a]encounter (A)omens, but he set his face toward the (B)wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his [b]discourse and said,
“(D)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;
4 The oracle of him who (E)hears the [c]words of God,
Who beholds the (F)vision of [d]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like [e]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like (G)aloes planted by Yahweh,
Like (H)cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be lifted up higher than (I)Agag,
(J)And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 (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 gnaw their bones in pieces,
And [f]shatter them with his (M)arrows.
9 (N)He [g]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [h]lion, who [i]dares 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 blessed them repeatedly these three times! 11 So now, [k]flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(P)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the [l]command of Yahweh, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [m]accord. (R)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? 14 So now, behold, (S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the last days.”
Oracle of Balaam
15 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“(T)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered,
16 The oracle of him who hears the [n]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [o]Most High,
Who beholds the vision of the [p]Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened.
17 I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
(U)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(V)And shall crush through the [q]forehead of Moab,
And [r]tear down all the sons of [s]Sheth.
18 (W)And Edom shall be a possession,
(X)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 And one from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will make the survivor perish from the city.”
20 Then he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
21 Then he looked at the (Z)Kenite and took up his discourse and said,
“Your habitation is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will (AA)Asshur [u]keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Woe, who can live except when God has ordained it?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of (AB)Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict (AC)Eber;
(AD)So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose and went and returned to (AE)his place, and Balak also went his way.
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:1 Or meet, cf. 21:33; 22:34, 36; 23:3
- Numbers 24:3 Lit parable, so in ch
- Numbers 24:4 Lit sayings
- Numbers 24:4 Heb Shaddai
- Numbers 24:6 Or possibly palm trees
- Numbers 24:8 Or crush, cf. 24:17
- Numbers 24:9 Lit bows down
- Numbers 24:9 Or lioness
- Numbers 24:9 Lit shall
- Numbers 24:10 Lit palms
- Numbers 24:11 Lit flee for yourself
- Numbers 24:13 Lit mouth
- Numbers 24:13 Lit heart
- Numbers 24:16 Lit sayings
- Numbers 24:16 Heb Elyon
- Numbers 24:16 Heb Shaddai
- Numbers 24:17 Lit corners
- Numbers 24:17 Or the skull of the head of
- Numbers 24:17 Lit tumult
- Numbers 24:20 Lit to destroying
- Numbers 24:22 Lit take
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