Numbers 24:1-14
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.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 24:1-14
International Standard Version
Balaam’s Third Prophecy
24 When Balaam noticed that the Lord was pleased that Balaam was blessing Israel, he didn’t behave as he had time after time before, that is, to practice divination. Instead, he turned with his face to the wilderness, 2 looked up, and saw Israel encamped in their respective tribal order. Just then, the spirit of God came upon him. 3 Balaam uttered this prophetic statement:
“A declaration by Beor’s son Balaam,
a declaration by the strong, blind man.[a]
4 A declaration from one who hears what God has to say,
who saw the vision that the Almighty revealed,
who keeps stumbling
with open eyes.
5 Jacob, your tents are so fine,
as well as your dwelling places,[b] O Israel!
6 They’re spread out like valleys,
like gardens along river banks,
like aloe planted by the Lord,
or like cedars beside water.
7 He will pour water from his buckets,
and his descendants will stream forth like abundant water.
His king will be more exalted than Agag
when he exalts his own kingdom.
8 God is bringing them[c] out of Egypt
with the strength of an ox.
He’ll devour enemy nations,
break their bones,
and impale them with arrows.
9 He crouches, laying low like a lion.
Who would awaken him?
Those who bless you are blessed,
and those who curse you are cursed.”
10 Balak flew into a rage and he started hitting his fists together. “I called you to curse my enemies,” he yelled at Balaam. “But look here! You’ve blessed them three times! 11 Now get out of here! I had promised you that I would definitely honor you, but now the Lord has kept me from doing that!”
12 But Balaam replied to Balak, “I told your messengers, 13 ‘Even if Balak gives me his palace[d] full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the Lord and do anything—whether good or evil—on my own initiative, because I’m going to say whatever the Lord says.’ 14 Meanwhile, since I have to return to my people, come and listen while I tell you what this people will be doing to your people in the last days.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 24:3 Lit. strong man with a closed eye
- Numbers 24:5 Or your tents
- Numbers 24:8 Lit. him; i.e. national Israel personified as an individual
- Numbers 24:13 Or house
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