Balaam’s First Message

23 Balaam said, “Build seven altars* here. And prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” ²Balak did the thing that Balaam asked. Then Balak and Balaam killed a ram and a bull on each of the altars. ³Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here near this altar.* I will go to another place. Then the Lord will come to me, and he will tell me what I must say.” Then Balaam went away to a higher place. ⁴God came to Balaam at that place. And Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars.* And I have killed a bull and a ram as a sacrifice on each altar.” ⁵Then the Lord told Balaam what he should say. Then the Lord said, “Go back to Balak and say these things that I have given you to say.” ⁶So Balaam went back to Balak. Balak was still standing near the altar.* And all the leaders of Moab were standing there with them. ⁷Then Balaam said these things: Balak king of Moab brought me here from the eastern mountains of Aram. Balak said to me, “Come, speak against Jacob* for me. Come, speak against the people of Israel.” ⁸But God is not against those people, so I can’t speak against them either! The Lord has not asked for bad things to happen to those people. So I can’t do that either. ⁹I see those people from the mountain. I see them from the high hills. Those people live alone. They are not part of another nation. ¹⁰Who can count Jacob’s people? They are as many as the grains of dust. No one can count even a fourth of the people of Israel. Let me die like a good man. Let my life end as happy as theirs! ¹¹Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to speak against my enemies. But you have only blessed them!” ¹²But Balaam answered, “I must say the things that the Lord tells me to say.” ¹³Then Balak said to him, “So come with me to another place. At that place you can see more of those people. You can’t see all of them—you can only see part of them. Maybe from that place you can speak against them for me.” ¹⁴So Balak led Balaam to Watchmen Hills.* This was on top of Mount Pisgah. At that place, Balak built seven altars.* And then Balak killed a bull and a ram on each altar as a sacrifice. ¹⁵So Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by this altar.* I will go meet with God over at that place.” ¹⁶So the Lord came to Balaam and told Balaam what to say. Then the Lord told Balaam to go back to Balak and say those things. ¹⁷So Balaam went to Balak. Balak was still standing near the altar.* The leaders of Moab were there with him. Balak saw Balaam coming and said, “What did the Lord say?”

Balaam’s Second Message

¹⁸Then Balaam said these things: “Stand up, Balak, and listen to me. Hear me, Balak son of Zippor. ¹⁹God is not a man; he will not lie. God is not a human being; his decisions will not change. If the Lord says he will do something, then he will do it. If the Lord makes a promise, then he will do the thing he promised. ²⁰The Lord told me to bless those people. The Lord blessed them, so I cannot change that. ²¹God saw no wrong in Jacob’s people. God saw no sin in the people of Israel. The Lord is their God, and he is with them. The Great King is with them! ²²God brought those people out of Egypt. They are as strong as a wild ox. ²³There is no power that can defeat the people of Jacob.* There is no magic that can stop the people of Israel. People will say this about Jacob and about the people of Israel: ‘Look at the great things God did!’ ²⁴The people are as strong as a lion. They fight like a lion. And that lion will not rest, until he has eaten his enemy. And that lion will not rest, until he drinks the blood of the people who are against him.” ²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, “You didn’t ask for good things to happen to those people. But you didn’t ask for bad things to happen to them either!” ²⁶Balaam answered, “I told you before that I can only say the things that the Lord tells me to say.” ²⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “So come with me to another place. Maybe God will be pleased and will allow you to curse them from that place.” ²⁸So Balak led Balaam to the top of Mount Peor. This mountain looks out over the desert. ²⁹Balaam said, “Build seven altars* here. Then prepare seven bulls and seven rams for the altars.” ³⁰Balak did the thing that Balaam asked. Balak offered the bulls and rams on the altars.

altar(s) A table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. Jacob This is another name for Israel. Watchmen Hills Or, “the fields of Zophim.”

Balaam’s Third Message

24 Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel. So Balaam did not try to change that by using any kind of magic. But Balaam turned and looked toward the desert. ²Balaam looked out across the desert and saw all the people of Israel. They were camped with the family groups in their different areas. Then the Spirit of God came to Balaam. ³And Balaam said these words: “This message is from Balaam son of Beor. I am speaking about things I see clearly. ⁴I heard this message from God. I saw what God All-Powerful* showed me. I humbly tell what I clearly see. ⁵“People of Jacob, your tents are beautiful! People of Israel, your homes are beautiful! ⁶You are like gardens planted by the streams. You are like gardens growing by the rivers. You are like sweet-smelling bushes planted by the Lord. You are like beautiful trees growing by the water. ⁷You will always have enough water, enough water for your seeds to grow. Your king will be greater than king Agag. Your kingdom will be very great. ⁸“God brought those people out of Egypt. They are as strong as a wild ox. They will defeat all their enemies. They will break their bones and shatter their arrows. ⁹“Israel is like a lion, curled up and lying down. Yes, they are like a young lion, and no one wants to wake him! Any person who blesses you will be blessed. And any person who speaks against you will have great troubles.” ¹⁰Balak became very angry at Balaam. Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to come and speak against my enemies. But you have blessed them. You have blessed them three times. ¹¹Now leave and go home! I told you that I would give you a very good payment. But the Lord has caused you to lose your reward.” ¹²Balaam said to Balak, “You sent men to me. Those men asked me to come. But I told them, ¹³‘Balak can give me his most beautiful house filled with silver and gold. But I can still say only the things that the Lord commands me to say. I cannot do anything myself, good or bad. I must say what the Lord commands.’ Surely you remember that I told your men these things. ¹⁴Now I am going back to my own people. But I will give you this warning. I will tell you what these people of Israel will do to you and your people in the future.”

Balaam’s Last Message

¹⁵Then Balaam said these things: “This message is from Balaam son of Beor. I am speaking about things I see clearly. ¹⁶I heard this message from God. I learned what God Most-High taught me. I saw what God All-Powerful* showed me. I humbly tell what I clearly see. ¹⁷“I see the Lord coming, but not now. I see him coming, but not soon. A star will come from the family of Jacob.* A new ruler will come from the people of Israel. That ruler will crush the heads of the Moabite people. That ruler will crush the heads of all the sons of Sheth.* ¹⁸Israel will grow strong! He will get the land of Edom. He will get the land of Seir,* his enemy. ¹⁹“A new ruler will come from the family of Jacob.* That ruler will destroy the people left alive in that city.” ²⁰Then Balaam saw the Amalekite people and said these words: “Amalek is the strongest of all nations. But even Amalek will be destroyed!” ²¹Then Balaam saw the Kenite people and he said these words: “You believe that your country is safe, like a bird’s nest* high on a mountain. ²²But you Kenite* people will be destroyed, just like the Lord destroyed Cain.* Assyria will make you prisoners.” ²³Then Balaam said these words: “No person can live when God does this. ²⁴Ships will come from Cyprus.* They will defeat Assyria and Eber.* But those ships will also be destroyed.” ²⁵Then Balaam got up and went back home. And Balak went his own way.

altar(s) A table or raised area used for offering sacrifices. God All-Powerful Literally, “El Shaddai.” Jacob This is another name for Israel. sons of Sheth Or, “Seth.” Seth was Adam’s third son. This might be like the phrases “son of Man (Adam)” and “son of Enosh” and mean simply “all those people.” Seir Another name for Edom. nest, Kenite, Cain A play on words. The names “Cain” and “Kenite” are like the Hebrew word meaning “nest.” Cyprus Literally, “Kittim.” This might be Cyprus, Crete, or other places west of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. Eber This might mean the people living west of the Euphrates River, or it might mean the “Hebrews,” the descendants of Eber. See Gen. 10:21.