Numbers 24:3-15
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 24
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.
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.'
King James Version
9He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
11Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.
12And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
13If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?
14And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
15And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 24
3and he proclaimed his poem: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened, 4the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered: 5How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. 6They stretch out like river valleys, like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the Lord has planted, like cedars beside the water. 7Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be by abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted. 8God brought him out of Egypt; he is like the horns of a wild ox for them. He will feed on enemy nations and gnaw their bones; he will strike them with his arrows. 9He crouches, he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed.
10Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, "I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times.
11Now go to your home! I said I would reward you richly, but look, the Lord has denied you a reward."
12Balaam answered Balak, "Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me:
13If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says.
14Now I am going back to my people, but first, let me warn you what these people will do to your people in the future."
New Living Translation
Chapter 24
3and this is the message he delivered: 'This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, 4the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: 5How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel! 6They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. 7Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. 8God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows. 9Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.'
10King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, 'I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times.
11Now get out of here! Go back home! I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has kept you from your reward.'
12Balaam told Balak, 'Don’t you remember what I told your messengers? I said,
13‘Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord.’ I told you that I could say only what the Lord says!
14Now I am returning to my own people. But first let me tell you what the Israelites will do to your people in the future.'
English Standard Version
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 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."
New International Version
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.
7Water 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.
10Then 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.
11Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded."
12Balaam 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’?
14Now 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."
New King James Version
Chapter 24
3Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, 4The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: 5“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! 6Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lord, Like cedars beside the waters. 7He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. 8“God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. 9‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.”
10Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times!
11Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”
12So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying,
13‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’?
14And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
