Online Bible

Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam

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 ¹encounter ^aomens, but he set his face toward the ^bwilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and ^athe Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then 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;

4 The oracle of him who ^ahears the ¹words of God,Who beholds the ^bvision of ²the Almighty,Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,5 How 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.”

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 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.” 12 And 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

15 Then 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,

16 The 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.”

20 Then 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 Then 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?”

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 ^aKittim,And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict ^bEber;^cSo they also will come to destruction.”

25 Then Balaam arose and went and returned to ^ahis place, and Balak also went 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.