Numbers 23 - 24
Yahweh Speaks Through Balaam
23Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2So Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.
4Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5Then Yahweh aput a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7Then he took up his 1discourse and said, “From aAram Balak has brought me,Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,‘bCome curse Jacob for me,And come, denounce Israel!’
8“aHow shall I curse whom God has not cursed?And how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced?9“For I see him from the top of the rocks,And I look at him from the hills;aBehold, a people who dwells alone,And will not be reckoned among the nations.10“aWho can number the dust of Jacob,Or count the fourth part of Israel?bLet 1me die the death of the upright,cAnd let my end be like his!”11Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? aI took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly!” 12And he replied, “Must I not be careful to speak awhat Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Discourse
13Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, but you will only see the end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet Yahweh over there.” 16Then Yahweh met Balaam and aput a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” 18Then he took up his 1discourse and said, “Arise, O Balak, and hear;Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19“aGod is not a man, that He should lie,Nor a son of man, that He should repent;bHas He said, and will He not do it?Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?20“Behold, I have received a command to bless;aWhen He has blessed, then bI cannot revoke it.21“aHe has not observed 1misfortune in Jacob;bNor has He seen trouble in Israel;cYahweh his God is with him,dAnd the shout of a king is among them.22“aGod brings them out of Egypt,He is for them like the bhorns of the wild ox.23“aFor there is no omen against Jacob,Nor is there any divination against Israel;At the proper time it shall be said to JacobAnd to Israel, what God has done!24“aBehold, a people rises like a lioness,And as a lion it lifts itself;It will not lie down until it devours the prey,And drinks the blood of the slain.”25Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘aWhatever Yahweh speaks, that I must do’?”
27Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be right in the eyes of God that you curse them for me from there.” 28So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the 1wasteland. 29And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30And Balak did just as Balaam had said and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam
24And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to 1encounter aomens, but he set his face toward the bwilderness. 2And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and athe Spirit of God came upon him. 3Then he took up his 1discourse and said, “aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;
4The oracle of him who ahears the 1words of God,Who beholds the bvision of 2the Almighty,Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,5How fair are your tents, O Jacob,Your dwellings, O Israel!6“Like 1valleys that stretch out,Like gardens beside the river,Like aaloes planted by Yahweh,Like bcedars 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 aAgag,bAnd his kingdom shall be exalted.8“aGod brings him out of Egypt,He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.bHe will devour the nations who are his adversaries,And will gnaw their bones in pieces,And 1shatter them with his carrows.9“aHe 1crouches, he lies down as a lion,And as a 2lion, who 3dares rouse him?bBlessed is everyone who blesses you,And cursed is everyone who curses you.”10Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his 1hands 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, 1flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.” 12And Balaam said to Balak, “aDid 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 1command of Yahweh, either good or bad, aof my own 2accord. bWhat Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? 14“So now, behold, aI 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
15Then he took up his discourse and said, “aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered,
16The oracle of him who hears the 1words of God,And knows the knowledge of the 2Most High,Who beholds the vision of the 3Almighty,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,aA scepter shall rise from Israel,bAnd shall crush through the 1forehead of Moab,And 2tear down all the sons of 3Sheth.18“aAnd Edom shall be a possession,bSeir, 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.”20Then he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations,aBut his end shall be 1destruction.”
21Then he looked at the aKenite 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 aAsshur 1keep you captive?”23Then 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 aKittim,And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict bEber;cSo they also will come to destruction.”25Then Balaam arose and went and returned to ahis place, and Balak also went his way.