Numbers 24
New American Standard Bible
The Prophecy from Peor
24 When Balaam saw that it [a]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to [b]seek (A)omens, rather he turned his [c]attention toward the (B)wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel [d]camping tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“(D)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;
4 The declaration of him who (E)hears the [e]words of God,
Who sees the (F)vision of [f]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
5 How pleasant are your tents, Jacob,
Your dwelling places, Israel!
6 Like [g]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside a river,
Like (G)aloes planted by the Lord,
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 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 crush their bones,
And smash them with his (M)arrows.
9 (N)He [h]crouches, he lies down like a lion,
And like a lioness, who [i]dares to 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 persisted in blessing them these three times! 11 So [k]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(P)Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the [l]command of the Lord, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [m]accord. (R)What the Lord speaks, I will [n]speak’? 14 So now, behold, (S)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the [o]days to come.”
15 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“(T)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened,
16 The declaration of him who hears the [p]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [q]Most High,
Who sees the vision of [r]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered:
17 I see him, but not now;
I look at him, but not near;
A star shall appear from Jacob,
(U)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(V)And shall smash the [s]forehead of Moab,
And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
18 (W)And Edom shall be a possession,
(X)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 One from Jacob shall rule,
And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”
20 And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
21 And he looked at the (Z)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,
“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation;
How long will (AA)Asshur [u]keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of (AB)Kittim,
And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress (AC)Eber;
(AD)So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to (AE)his place, and Balak also went on his way.
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:1 Lit was good in the eyes of
- Numbers 24:1 Lit encounter
- Numbers 24:1 Lit face
- Numbers 24:2 Lit dwelling
- Numbers 24:4 Lit sayings
- Numbers 24:4 Heb Shaddai
- Numbers 24:6 Or possibly palm trees
- Numbers 24:9 Lit bows down
- Numbers 24:9 Lit will
- Numbers 24:10 Lit palms
- Numbers 24:11 Lit flee for yourself
- Numbers 24:13 Lit mouth
- Numbers 24:13 Lit heart
- Numbers 24:13 Lit speak it
- Numbers 24:14 Lit end of the days
- Numbers 24:16 Lit sayings
- Numbers 24:16 Heb Elyon
- Numbers 24:16 Heb Shaddai
- Numbers 24:17 Lit corners
- Numbers 24:20 Lit to destruction
- Numbers 24:22 Lit take
Numbers 24
King James Version
24 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.
12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?
14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
Numbers 24
Living Bible
24 Balaam realized by now that Jehovah planned to bless Israel, so he didn’t even go to meet the Lord as he had earlier. Instead, he went at once and looked out toward the camp of Israel 2 which stretched away across the plains, divided by tribal areas.
Then the Spirit of God came upon him, 3-9 and he spoke this prophecy concerning them:
“Balaam the son of Beor says—
The man whose eyes are open says—
‘I have listened to the word of God,
I have seen what God Almighty showed me;
I fell, and my eyes were opened:
Oh, the joys awaiting Israel,
Joys in the homes of Jacob.
I see them spread before me as green valleys,
And fruitful gardens by the riverside;
As aloes planted by the Lord himself;
As cedar trees beside the waters.
They shall be blessed with an abundance of water,
And they shall live in many places.
Their king will be greater than Agag;
Their kingdom is exalted.
God has brought them from Egypt.
Israel has the strength of a wild ox,
And shall eat up the nations that oppose him;
He shall break their bones in pieces,
And shall shoot them with many arrows.
Israel sleeps as a lion or a lioness—
Who dares arouse him?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,
And curses shall fall upon everyone who curses you.’”
10 King Balak was livid with rage by now. Striking his hands together in anger and disgust he shouted, “I called you to curse my enemies and instead you have blessed them three times. 11 Get out of here! Go back home! I had planned to promote you to great honor, but Jehovah has kept you from it!”
12 Balaam replied, “Didn’t I tell your messengers 13 that even if you gave me a palace filled with silver and gold, I could not go beyond the words of Jehovah, and could not say a word of my own? I said that I would say only what Jehovah says! 14 Yes, I shall return now to my own people. But first, let me tell you what the Israelites are going to do to your people!”
15-19 So he spoke this prophecy to him:
“Balaam the son of Beor is the man
Whose eyes are open!
He hears the words of God
And has knowledge from the Most High;
He sees what Almighty God has shown him;
He fell, and his eyes were opened:
I see in the future of Israel,
Far down the distant trail,
That there shall come a star from Jacob!
This ruler of Israel
Shall smite the people of Moab,
And destroy the sons of Sheth.
Israel shall possess all Edom and Seir.
They shall overcome their enemies.
Jacob shall arise in power
And shall destroy many cities.”
20 Then Balaam looked over at the homes of the people of Amalek and prophesied:
“Amalek was the first of the nations,
But its destiny is destruction!”
21-22 Then he looked over at the Kenites:
“Yes, you are strongly situated,
Your nest is set in the rocks!
But the Kenites shall be destroyed,
And the mighty army of the king of Assyria shall deport you from this land!”
23-24 He concluded his prophecies by saying:
“Alas, who can live when God does this?
Ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus,
And shall oppress both Eber and Assyria.
They too must be destroyed.”
25 So Balaam and Balak returned to their homes.[a]
Footnotes
- Numbers 24:25 So Balaam and Balak returned to their homes. But not before Balaam gave insidious advice that brought about the situation described in 25:1-3. See 31:16.
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