Book Order Plan

¹Then the sons of Israel journeyed on, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

²Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

³So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel.

⁴Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this horde will eat up all that is around us, as the ox eats up the grass of the field!” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.

⁵So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the Euphrates River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call for him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they have covered the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me.

⁶Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

⁷So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian left with the fees for divination in their hands; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak’s words to him.

⁸And he said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you just as the LORD may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam.

⁹Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me:

¹¹‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I will be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ”

¹²But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

¹³So Balaam got up in the morning and said to Balak’s representatives, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

¹⁴And the representatives from Moab got up and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵Then Balak sent representatives once again, more numerous and more distinguished than the previous.

¹⁶They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak the son of Zippor says: ‘I beg you, let nothing keep you from coming to me;

¹⁷for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you tell me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’ ”

¹⁸But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God.

¹⁹Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the LORD will say to me.”

²⁰And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise and go with them; but you shall do only the thing that I tell you.”

²¹So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

²²But God was angry that he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

²³When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, the donkey turned off from the road and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey to guide her back onto the road.

²⁴Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and on that side.

²⁵When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again.

²⁶Then the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left.

²⁷When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his staff.

²⁸Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

²⁹And Balaam said to the donkey, “It is because you have made a mockery of me! If only there had been a sword in my hand! For I would have killed you by now!”

³⁰But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground.

³²Then the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was reckless and contrary to me.

³³But the donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I certainly would have killed you just now, and let her live.”

³⁴So Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.”

³⁵But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the representatives of Balak.

³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, at the extreme end of the border.

³⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send word to you to call for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?”

³⁸So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you now! Am I really able to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that only shall I speak.”

³⁹And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

⁴⁰Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

⁴¹Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, and he saw from there a portion of the people.

¹Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”

²Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

³Then 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.” So he went to a bare hill.

⁴Now God met with Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.”

⁵Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.”

⁶So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab.

⁷And he took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, saying, ‘Come, declare Jacob cursed for me, And come, curse Israel!’

⁸How am I to put a curse on him upon whom God has not put a curse? And how am I to curse him whom the LORD has not cursed?

⁹For I see him from the top of the rocks, And I look at him from the hills; Behold, a people that lives in isolation, And does not consider itself to be among the nations.

¹⁰Who has counted the dust of Jacob, Or the number of the fourth part of Israel? May I die the death of the upright, And may my end be like his!”

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to put a curse on my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!”

¹²He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and put a curse on them for me from there.”

¹⁴So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵Then he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the LORD over there.”

¹⁶Then the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.”

¹⁷So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

¹⁸Then he took up his discourse and said, “Arise, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, son of Zippor!

¹⁹God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

²⁰Behold, I have received a command to bless; When He has blessed, I cannot revoke it.

²¹He has not looked at misfortune in Jacob; Nor has He seen trouble in Israel; The LORD his God is with him, And the joyful shout of a king is among them.

²²God brings them out of Egypt, He is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

²³For there is no magic curse against Jacob, Nor is there any divination against Israel; At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob And to Israel, what God has done!

²⁴Behold, a people rises like a lioness, And like a lion it raises itself; It will not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of those slain.”

²⁵Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

²⁶But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the LORD speaks, I must do’?”

²⁷Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.”

²⁸So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert.

²⁹And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”

³⁰Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens, rather he turned his attention toward the wilderness.

²And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

³Then he took up his discourse and said, “The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor, And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;

⁴The declaration of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

⁵How pleasant are your tents, Jacob, Your dwelling places, Israel!

⁶Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside a river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.

⁷Water will flow from his buckets, And his seed will be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones, And smash them with his arrows.

⁹He crouches, he lies down like a lion, And like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.”

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

¹¹So flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the LORD has held you back from honor.”

¹²And Balaam said to Balak, “Did 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 command of the LORD, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the LORD speaks, I will speak’?

¹⁴So now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”

¹⁵Then he took up his discourse and said, “The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor, And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened,

¹⁶The declaration 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, yet having his eyes uncovered:

¹⁷I see him, but not now; I look at him, but not near; A star shall appear from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall smash the forehead of Moab, And overcome all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁸And Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, While Israel performs valiantly.

¹⁹One from Jacob shall rule, And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”

²⁰And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his end shall be destruction.”

²¹And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, “Your dwelling place is enduring, And your nest is set in the cliff.

²²Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation; How long will Asshur keep you captive?”

²³Then he took up his discourse and said, “Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?

²⁴But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress Eber; So they also will come to destruction.”

²⁵Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.