Numbers 24
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. 2 And 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,
4 The 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!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
(F)Like aloes (G)planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be (H)in many waters.
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?’
(P)“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he (Q)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, (R)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. (S)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, (T)I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the (U)latter days.”
Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy
15 So he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
17 “I(V) see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
(W)A Star shall come out of Jacob;
(X)A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And [b]batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of [c]tumult.
18 “And (Y)Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does [d]valiantly.
19 (Z)Out of Jacob One [e]shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”
20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”
21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”
23 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
24 But ships shall come from the coasts of (AA)Cyprus,[f]
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict (AB)Eber,
And so shall [g]Amalek, until he perishes.”
25 So Balaam rose and departed and (AC)returned to his place; Balak also went his way.
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:1 enchantments
- Numbers 24:17 shatter the forehead
- Numbers 24:17 Heb. Sheth, Jer. 48:45
- Numbers 24:18 mightily
- Numbers 24:19 shall rule
- Numbers 24:24 Heb. Kittim
- Numbers 24:24 Lit. he or that one
Numbers 24
Contemporary English Version
24 Balaam was sure that the Lord would tell him to bless Israel again. So he did not use any magic to find out what the Lord wanted him to do, as he had the first two times. Instead, he looked out toward the desert 2 and saw the tribes of Israel camped below. Just then, God's Spirit took control of him, 3 and Balaam said:
“I am the son of Beor,
and my words are true,[a]
so listen to my message!
4 It comes from the Lord,
the God All-Powerful.
I bowed down to him
and saw a vision of Israel.
5 “People of Israel,
your camp is lovely.
6 It's like a grove of palm trees[b]
or a garden beside a river.
You are like tall aloe trees
that the Lord has planted,
or like cedars
growing near water.
7 You and your descendants
will prosper like an orchard
beside a stream.
Your king will rule with power
and be a greater king
than Agag the Amalekite.[c]
8 With the strength of a wild ox,
God led you out of Egypt.
You will defeat your enemies,
shooting them with arrows[d]
and crushing their bones.
9 (A) Like a lion you lie down,
resting after an attack.
Who would dare disturb you?
“Anyone who blesses you
will be blessed;
anyone who curses you
will be cursed.”
10 When Balak heard this, he was so furious that he pounded his fist against his hand and said, “I called you here to place a curse on my enemies, and you've blessed them three times. 11 Leave now and go home! I told you I would pay you well, but since the Lord didn't let you do what I asked, you won't be paid.”
12 Balaam answered, “I told your messengers 13 that even if you offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I would still obey the Lord. And I explained that I would say only what he told me. 14 So I'm going back home, but I'm leaving you with a warning about what the Israelites will someday do to your nation.”
Balaam's Fourth Message
15 Balaam said:
“I am the son of Beor,
and my words are true,[e]
so listen to my message!
16 My knowledge comes
from God Most High,
the Lord All-Powerful.
I bowed down to him
and saw a vision of Israel.
17 “What I saw in my vision
hasn't happened yet.
But someday, a king of Israel
will appear like a star.
He will wipe out you Moabites[f]
and destroy[g] those tribes
who live in the desert.[h]
18 Israel will conquer Edom
and capture the land
of that enemy nation.
19 The king of Israel will rule
and destroy the survivors
of every town there.[i]
20 “And I saw this vision
about the Amalekites:[j]
Their nation is now great,
but it will someday
disappear forever.[k]
21 “And this is what I saw
about the Kenites:[l]
They think they're safe,
living among the rocks,
22 but they will be wiped out
when Assyria conquers them.[m]
23 “No one can survive
if God plans destruction.[n]
24 Ships will come from Cyprus,
bringing people who will invade
the lands of Assyria and Eber.
But finally, Cyprus itself
will be ruined.”
25 After Balaam finished, he started home, and Balak also left.
Footnotes
- 24.3 my words are true: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 24.6 grove of palm trees: Or “green valley.”
- 24.7 Agag the Amalekite: The Amalekites were longtime enemies of the Israelites (see Exodus 17.8-16), and Agag was one of their most powerful kings.
- 24.8 shooting them with arrows: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 24.15 my words are true: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 24.17 you Moabites: Or “the territories of Moab.”
- 24.17 destroy: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Samaritan Hebrew Text “the skulls of.”
- 24.17 those tribes … desert: The Hebrew text has “the descendants of Sheth,” which probably refers to the people who lived in the desert areas of Canaan before the Israelites.
- 24.19 every town there: Or “Ir in Moab.”
- 24.20 the Amalekites: See the note at 24.7.
- 24.20 but … forever: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 24.21 the Kenites: A group of people who lived in the desert south of Israel.
- 24.22 them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 22.
- 24.23 destruction: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 23.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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