Online Bible

The Prophecy from Peor

When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as he had done each time before superstitiously to seek ^aomens and signs in the natural world, but he set his face toward the ^bwilderness (desert) . 2 And Balaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel living in their tents tribe by tribe; and ^athe Spirit of God came on him. 3 He took up his third discourse (oracle) and said:“^aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened at last, to see clearly the purpose and will of God,

4 The oracle of one who ^ahears the words of God,Who sees the ^bvision of the Almighty,Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered,5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,And your tabernacles, O Israel!6 “Like valleys that stretch out,Like gardens beside the river,Like ^aaloes planted by the LORD,Like ^bcedars beside the waters. Ps 1:37 “Water that is, great blessings will flow from his buckets,And his offspring will live by many waters,And his king will be higher than ¹^aAgag,^bAnd his kingdom shall be exalted.8 “^aGod brought Israel out of Egypt;Israel has ¹strength like the wild ox;^bHe will devour Gentile nations, his adversaries (enemies) ,And will crush their bones in pieces,And shatter them with his ^carrows.9 “^aHe bowed down to rest, he lies down as a lion;And as a lioness, who dares to rouse him?^bBlessed of God is he who blesses you,And cursed of God is he who curses you.” Matt 25:40

10 Then Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have done nothing but bless them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your place! I had intended to honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor.” 12 Balaam said to Balak, “^aDid I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, 13 ‘Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD, to do either good or bad ^aof my own accord. ^bWhat the LORD speaks, that I will speak?’ 14 And now, look, ^aI am going to my people; come, I will advise you as to what this people Israel will do to your people Moab in the days to come.”

15 He took up his fourth discourse (oracle) and said:“^aThe oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,The oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

16 The oracle of him who hears the words of GodAnd knows the knowledge of the ¹Most High,Who sees the vision of the ²Almighty,Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered:17 I see Him, but not now;I behold Him, but not near.A star shall come forth from the descendants of Jacob,A ^ascepter shall rise out of the descendants of Israel^bAnd shall crush the forehead of MoabAnd destroy all the sons of Sheth. Matt 2:2; Rom 15:1218 “^aEdom shall be taken as a possession,Mount ^bSeir, Israel’s enemies, also will be a possession,While Israel performs valiantly.19 “One from the descendants of Jacob shall have dominionAnd will destroy the remnant from the city.”

20 Balaam looked at Amalek and took up his fifth discourse (oracle) and said:“Amalek was the first of the neighboring nations to oppose the Israelites after they left Egypt,^aBut his end shall be ¹destruction.”

21 And Balaam looked at the ^aKenites and took up his sixth discourse (oracle) and said:“Strong is your dwelling place,And you set your nest in the cliff.

22 “Nevertheless the Kenites will be consumed.How long will ^aAsshur (Assyria) keep you (Israel) captive?”

23 Then he took up his seventh discourse (oracle) and said:“Alas, who can live unless God has ordained it?

24 “But ships shall come from the coast of ¹^aKittim,And shall afflict Asshur (Assyria) and ²^bEber;So ^cthey (the victors) also will come to destruction.”

25 Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to ^ahis place, and Balak also went on his way.

The Prophecy from Peor

When Balaam saw that it ¹pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to ²seek ^aomens, rather he turned his ³attention toward the ^bwilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel ¹camping tribe by tribe; and ^athe Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his discourse and said,“^aThe declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;

4 The declaration of him who ^ahears the ¹words of God,Who sees the ^bvision of ²the Almighty,Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,5 How pleasant are your tents, Jacob,Your dwelling places, Israel!6 “Like ¹valleys that stretch out,Like gardens beside a river,Like ^aaloes planted by the LORD,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 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 crush their bones,And smash them with his ^carrows.9 “^aHe ¹crouches, he lies down like a lion,And like a lioness, who ²dares to rouse him?^bBlessed is everyone who blesses you,And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

10 Then 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 persisted in blessing them these three times! 11 So ¹flee 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, “^aDid 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 ¹command of the LORD, either good or bad, ^aof my own ²accord. ^bWhat the LORD speaks, I will ³speak’? 14 So now, behold, ^aI am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the ¹days to come.”

15 Then he took up his discourse and said,“^aThe 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 ¹words of God,And knows the knowledge of the ²Most High,Who sees the vision of ³the 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,^aA scepter shall rise from Israel,^bAnd shall smash the ¹forehead of Moab,And overcome all the sons of Sheth.18 “^aAnd Edom shall be a possession,^bSeir, 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,“Amalek was the first of the nations,^aBut his end shall be ¹destruction.”

21 And he looked at the ^aKenite, 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 ^aAsshur ¹keep 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 ^aKittim,And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress ^bEber;^cSo they also will come to destruction.”

25 Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to ^ahis place, and Balak also went on his way.