Num 24 | LSB | STEP | 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 encounter omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

Numbers 24

Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam

1 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 ^{▼▼Or meet, cf. 21:33; 22:34, 36; 23:3}encounter omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his ^{▼▼Lit parable, so in ch}discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;
4 The oracle of him who hears the ^{▼▼Lit sayings}words of God,
Who beholds the vision of ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 “Like ^{▼▼Or possibly palm trees}valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like aloes planted by Yahweh,
Like 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 Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 “God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will gnaw their bones in pieces,
And ^{▼▼Or crush, cf. 24:17}shatter them with his arrows.
9 “He ^{▼▼Lit bows down}crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a ^{▼▼Or lioness}lion, who ^{▼▼Lit shall}dares rouse him?
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 ^{▼▼Lit palms}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, ^{▼▼Lit flee for yourself}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, “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 ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command of Yahweh, either good or bad, of my own ^{▼▼Lit heart}accord. What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? 14 So now, behold, 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,

“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 ^{▼▼Lit sayings}words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the ^{▼▼Heb Elyon}Most High,
Who beholds the vision of the ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}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,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the ^{▼▼Lit corners}forehead of Moab,
And ^{▼▼Or the skull of the head of}tear down all the sons of ^{▼▼Lit tumult}Sheth.
18 “And Edom shall be a possession,
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,

“Amalek was the first of the nations,
But his end shall be ^{▼▼Lit to destroying}destruction.”
21 Then he looked at the 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 Asshur ^{▼▼Lit take}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 Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;
So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose and went and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.