1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to blesse Israel, then he went not, as certaine times before, to set diuinations, but set his face toward the wildernesse. 2 And Balaam lift vp his eyes, and looked vpon Israel, which dwelt according to their tribes, and the Spirit of God came vpon him. 3 And he vttered his parable, and sayd, Balaam the sonne of Beor hath sayde, and the man, whose eyes were shut vp, hath sayd, 4 He hath sayde, which heard the wordes of God, and sawe the vision of the Almightie, and falling in a traunce had his eyes opened: 5 How goodly are thy tentes, O Iaakob, and thine habitations, O Israel! 6 As the valleis, are they stretched forth, as gardes by the riuers side, as the aloe trees, which the Lord hath planted, as the cedars beside the waters. 7 The water droppeth out of his bucket, and his seede shalbe in many waters, and his king shall be hier then Agag, and his kingdome shall bee exalted. 8 God brought him out of Egypt: his strength shalbe as an vnicorne: he shall eate the nations his enemies, and bruise their bones, and shoote them through with his arrowes. 9 He coucheth and lieth downe as a yong lion, and as a lion: who shall stirre him vp? blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. 10 Then Balak was very angry with Balaam, and smote his handes together: so Balak sayde vnto Balaam, I sent for thee to curse mine enemies, and beholde, thou hast blessed them nowe three times. 11 Therefore nowe flee vnto thy place: I thought surely to promote thee vnto honour, but loe, the Lord hath kept thee backe from honour. 12 Then Balaam answered Balak, Tolde I not also thy messengers, which thou sentest vnto me, saying, 13 If Balak would giue me his house ful of siluer and gold, I can not passe the commandement of the Lord, to doe either good or bad of mine owne minde? what the Lord shall commaund, the same will I speake. 14 And nowe behold, I goe vnto my people: come, I will aduertise thee what this people shall doe to thy folke in the later dayes. 15 And he vttered his parable, and sayd, Balaam the sonne of Beor hath sayde, and the man whose eyes were shut vp, hath sayd, 16 He hath said that heard the words of God, and hath the knowledge of the most High, and sawe the vision of the Almightie, and falling in a traunce had his eyes opened: 17 I shall see him, but not nowe: I shall behold him, but not neere: there shall come a starre of Iaakob, and a scepter shall rise of Israel, and shall smite the coastes of Moab, and destroy all the sonnes of Sheth. 18 And Edom shalbe possessed, and Seir shall be a possession to their enemies: but Israel shall do valiantly. 19 He also that shall haue dominion shall bee of Iaakob, and shall destroy the remnant of the citie. 20 And when he looked on Amalek, he vttered his parable, and sayd, Amalek was the first of the nations: but his latter ende shall come to destruction. 21 And he looked on the Kenites, and vttered his parable, and sayde, Strong is thy dwelling place, and put thy nest in the rocke. 22 Neuerthelesse, the Kenite shalbe spoyled vntill Asshur cary thee away captiue. 23 Againe he vttered his parable, and sayd, Alas, who shall liue when God doeth this? 24 The ships also shall come from the coastes of Chittim, and subdue Asshur, and shall subdue Eber, and he also shall come to destruction. 25 Then Balaam rose vp, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
1 By now Balaam knew that the Lord wanted him to bless the people of Israel, so he did not go to look for omens, as he had done before. He turned toward the desert 2 and saw the people of Israel camped tribe by tribe. The spirit of God took control of him, 3 and he uttered this prophecy:
“The message of Balaam son of Beor,
The words of the man who can see clearly,
4 Who can hear what God is saying.
With staring eyes I see in a trance
A vision from Almighty God.
5 The tents of Israel are beautiful,
6 Like long rows of palms
Or gardens beside a river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord
Or cedars beside the water.
7 They will have abundant rainfall
And plant their seed in well-watered fields.
Their king shall be greater than Agag,
And his rule shall be extended far and wide.
8 God brought them out of Egypt;
He fights for them like a wild ox.
They devour their enemies,
Crush their bones, smash their arrows.
9 The nation is like a mighty lion;
When it is sleeping, no one dares wake it.
Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed,
And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.”
10 Balak clenched his fists in anger and said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but three times now you have blessed them instead. 11 Now get on home! I promised to reward you, but the Lord has kept you from getting the reward.”
12 Balaam answered, “I told the messengers you sent to me that 13 even if you gave me all the silver and gold in your palace, I could not disobey the command of the Lord by doing anything of myself. I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.”
Balaam's Final Prophecies
14 Balaam said to Balak, “Now I am going back to my own people, but before I go, I am warning you what the people of Israel will do to your people in the future.” 15 Then he uttered this prophecy:
“The message of Balaam son of Beor,
The words of the man who can see clearly,
16 Who can hear what God is saying
And receive the knowledge that comes from the Most High.
With staring eyes I see in a trance
A vision from Almighty God.
17 I look into the future,
And I see the nation of Israel.
A king, like a bright star, will arise in that nation.
Like a comet he will come from Israel.
He will strike the leaders of Moab
And beat down all the people of Seth.
18 He will conquer his enemies in Edom
And make their land his property,
While Israel continues victorious.
19 The nation of Israel will trample them down
And wipe out the last survivors.”
20 Then in his vision Balaam saw the Amalekites and uttered this prophecy:
“Amalek was the most powerful nation of all,
But at the end it will perish forever.”
21 In his vision he saw the Kenites, and uttered this prophecy:
“The place where you live is secure,
Safe as a nest set high on a cliff,
22 But you Kenites will be destroyed
When Assyria takes you captive.”
23 Balaam uttered this prophecy:
“Who are these people gathering in the north?
24 Invaders will sail from Cyprus;
They will conquer Assyria and Eber,
But they, in turn, will perish forever.”
25 Then Balaam got ready and went back home, and Balak went on his way.