23 Balaam’s First Oracle

23:1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ²Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. ³And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, ⁴and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” ⁵And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” ⁶And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. ⁷And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ ⁸How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? ⁹For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! ¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part[1] of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”

¹¹And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” ¹²And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Oracle

¹³And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” ¹⁴And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord over there.” ¹⁶And the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: ¹⁹God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? ²⁰Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. ²¹He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. ²²God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. ²³For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’ ²⁴Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”

²⁵And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” ²⁶But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” ²⁷And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” ²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert.[2] ²⁹And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

[1] Or dust clouds [2] Or Jeshimon

24 Balaam’s Third Oracle

24:1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, ³and he took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,^[3]⁴the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: ⁵How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! ⁶Like palm groves[4] that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. ⁷Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. ⁹He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”

¹⁰And 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, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.” ¹²And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ¹³‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’? ¹⁴And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

Balaam’s Final Oracle

¹⁵And he took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, ¹⁶the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: ¹⁷I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead[5] of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. ¹⁸Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. ¹⁹And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” ²⁰Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.” ²¹And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock. ²²Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned when Asshur takes you away captive.” ²³And he took up his discourse and said,

“Alas, who shall live when God does this? ²⁴ But ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asshur and Eber; and he too shall come to utter destruction.”

²⁵Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

[3] Or closed, or perfect; also verse 15 [4] Or valleys [5] Hebrew corners [of the head]