Numbers 24

¹ Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. ² When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him ³ and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
⁴ the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

⁵ “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
your dwelling places, Israel!

⁶ “Like valleys they spread out,
like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the Lord,
like cedars beside the waters.
⁷ Water will flow from their buckets;
their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.

⁸ “God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
and break their bones in pieces;
with their arrows they pierce them.
⁹ Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!”

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”
¹² Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord—and I must say only what the Lord says’? ¹⁴ Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”

Balaam’s Fourth Message

¹⁵ Then he spoke his message:
“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
¹⁶ the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

¹⁷ “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the people of Sheth.
¹⁸ Edom will be conquered;
Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
but Israel will grow strong.
¹⁹ A ruler will come out of Jacob
and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek and spoke his message:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
but their end will be utter destruction.”

Balaam’s Sixth Message

²¹ Then he saw the Kenites and spoke his message:

“Your dwelling place is secure,
your nest is set in a rock;
²² yet you Kenites will be destroyed
when Ashur takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

²³ Then he spoke his message:

“Alas! Who can live when God does this?
²⁴ Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;
they will subdue Ashur and Eber,
but they too will come to ruin.”

²⁵ Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.