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24. Balaam's Oracles

¹ Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. ² When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him ³ and he spoke his message:

   “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
   the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
⁴ the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
   who sees a vision from the Almighty, Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 16
   who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

⁵ “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
your dwelling places, Israel!

    ⁶ “Like valleys they spread out,
   like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the LORD,
   like cedars beside the waters.
⁷ Water will flow from their buckets;
   their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.

    ⁸ “God brought them out of Egypt;
   they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
   and break their bones in pieces;
   with their arrows they pierce them.
⁹ Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
   like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!”

¹⁰ Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. ¹¹ Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded.”

¹² Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD—and I must say only what the LORD says’? ¹⁴ Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”

Balaam’s Fourth Message

¹⁵ Then he spoke his message:

   “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
   the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
¹⁶ the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
   who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
   who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

    ¹⁷ “I see him, but not now;
   I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
   a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
   the skulls Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain. of Or possibly Moab, / batter all the people of Sheth. Or all the noisy boasters
¹⁸ Edom will be conquered;
   Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
   but Israel will grow strong.
¹⁹ A ruler will come out of Jacob
   and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

²⁰ Then Balaam saw Amalek and spoke his message:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
but their end will be utter destruction.”

Balaam’s Sixth Message

²¹ Then he saw the Kenites and spoke his message:

   “Your dwelling place is secure,
   your nest is set in a rock;
²² yet you Kenites will be destroyed
   when Ashur takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

²³ Then he spoke his message:

   “Alas! Who can live when God does this? Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.
    ²⁴ Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;
they will subdue Ashur and Eber,
   but they too will come to ruin.”

²⁵ Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.

22. Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. It is a harsh and unnatural construction to apply this to the Kenites; and the majority, indeed, consent that it should be referred to the Israelites; yet they differ as to the meaning of it, for some take it affirmatively, that the Kenites should be wasted, until the Assyrians should conquer the Israelites and carry them away captive; some, however, take it interrogatlvely, ¹⁸⁰¹⁸⁰ It will be seen that the A. V. renders the clause interrogatively in the margin, though with a slight difference from the sense of C. as if it were an abrupt exclamation, How long shall Asshur hold thee captive? Thus they conceive the prolonged exile of the people is indicated. Undoubtedly it was the purpose of the Spirit to shew, by way of correction, that their prosperity, which had been previously mentioned, should be mixed with heavy afflictions: for slavery is a bitter thing, and exile even worse. Hence we gather that, though the Church is blessed by God, it is still in such a way as that it shall not cease to be exposed to various calamities. The interrogation, therefore, will be most appropriate.