Numbers 24

1 And when Bil'am saw that it was pleasing in the eyes of the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

When Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, he chose not to use divination as he had previously. Instead he turned towards the desert,

2 And Bil'am lifted up his eyes, and when he saw Israel encamped according to their tribes, there came upon him the spirit of God.

and as he looked at Israel camped there according to their respective tribes, the Spirit of God came on him.

3 And he took up his parable, and said, Thus saith Bil'am the son of Beor, and thus saith the man whose eyes are open;

He gave a declaration, saying:

4 Thus saith he who heareth the sayings of God, who seeth the vision of the Almighty, falling down, with unvailed eyes:

“This is the prophecy of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophecy of a man who sees with eyes are wide open, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision given by Almighty, who bows down in respect with open eyes.

5 How beautiful are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwelling, O Israel!

How well set out your tents are, Jacob; the places where you live, Israel!

6 As streams are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as aloe-trees, which the Lord hath planted, as cedar-trees beside the waters.

They look like wooded valleys, like gardens beside a river, like aloe trees the Lord has planted, like cedars at the water's edge.

7 Water runneth out of His buckets, that his seed may be moistened by abundance of water; and exalted above Agag shall be his king, and raised on high shall be his kingdom.

The Israelites will pour out bucketfuls of water; their descendants will have plenty of water. Their king will be greater than King Agag; their kingdom will be glorious.

8 God, who brought him forth out of Egypt, is to him like the heights of the reem; he will devour nations, his oppressors, and their bones will he break, and pierce [them] through with his arrows.

God led them out of Egypt with great power, as strong as an ox, destroying enemy nations, breaking their bones, piercing them with arrows.

9 He coucheth, he lieth down as a lion, and as a lioness: who shall make him rise up? They that bless thee be blessed, and they that curse thee be cursed.

They are like a lion that crouches and lies down. They are like a lioness that nobody dares to disturb. Those who bless you will be blessed; those who curse you will be cursed.”

10 And the anger of Balak was kindled against Bil'am, and he struck his hands together: and Balak said unto Bil'am, To denounce my enemies did I call thee, and, behold, thou hast even blessed them these three times.

Balak got angry with Balaam, and beat his fists together. He told Balaam, “I brought you here to curse my enemies, and now look! You keep on blessing them, doing it three times.

11 And now flee thou to thy place: I thought to honor thee greatly; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor.

Leave right now! Go home! I promised to pay you well, but the Lord has made sure you wouldn't receive any payment.”

12 And Bil'am said unto Balak, Did I not already speak to thy messengers, whom thou sentest unto me, saying,

But Balaam said to Balak, “Didn't I already explain to the messengers you sent

13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the order of the Lord, to do good or evil out of my own heart: what the Lord will speak, that must I speak?

that even if you gave me your whole palace full of silver and gold, I couldn't do anything I wanted or disobey the command of the Lord my God in any way? I can only say what the Lord tells me.

14 And now, behold, I am going unto my people: come, I will advise thee against what this people will do to thy people in the end of days.

Listen! I'm going back home now to my own people, but first let me warn you what these Israelites are going to do to your people in the future.”

15 And he took up his parable and said, Thus saith Bil'am the son of Beor, and thus saith the man whose eyes are open;

Then Balaam gave a declaration, saying, “This is the prophecy of Balaam, son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are wide open

16 Thus saith he who heareth the sayings of God, and knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, who seeth the vision of the Almighty, falling down, with unvailed eyes:

the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who receives knowledge from the Most High, who sees the vision given by Almighty, who bows down in respect with open eyes.

17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; there steppeth forth a star out of Jacob, and there ariseth a sceptre out of Israel, and he pierceth the chiefs of Moab, and destroyeth all the children of Sheth.

I see him, but this isn't now. I observe him, but this isn't close at hand. In the future a leader like a star will come from Jacob, a ruler with a scepter will come to power from Israel. He will crush the heads of the Moabites, and destroy all the people of Seth.

18 And Edom shall be a conquest, and Seir shall be a conquest for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.

The country of Edom will be conquered, his enemy Seir will be conquered, and the Israelites will be victorious.

19 And there shall rule the one from Jacob, and he shall destroy whatever escapeth out of the city.

A ruler from Jacob will come and destroy those left in the city.”

20 And he looked on Amalek, and he took up his parable, and said, The first of nations is Amalek; but his latter end shall be destruction for ever.

Balaam turned his attention to the Amalekites and gave this declaration about them, saying, “Amalek was first among the nations, but they will end up being destroyed.”

21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and placed on the rock is thy nest.

He turned his attention to the Kenites and gave this declaration about them, saying, “Where you live is safe and secure, like a nest on a cliff-face.

22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted: whither will Asshur carry thee away captive?

But Kain will be burned down when Assyria conquers you.”

23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doth appoint this one?

Then Balaam gave another declaration, saying, “It's a tragedy! Who can survive when God does this?

24 But ships will come from the coast of Kittim, and will afflict Asshur, and will afflict 'Eber; and he also will be given to destruction for ever.

Ships will be sent from Cyprus to attack Assyria and Eber, but they too will be permanently destroyed.”

25 And Bil'am rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.

Then Balaam left and returned to his own country, and Balak left too.