Numbers 24:2-9 - Compare All Versions

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When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his message: “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel! “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. “Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. “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. 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!”

And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. Water 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. God 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. He 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.”

where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, and this is the message he delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel! They 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. Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. God 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. Like 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.”

When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God  came on him, and he proclaimed his poem: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened, the 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: How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. They stretch out like river valleys,  like gardens beside a stream, like aloes the  LORD has planted, like cedars beside the water. Water 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. God 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. He 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.

And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, And the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, Which saw the vision of the Almighty, Falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, And thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the river's side, As the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, And as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: He shall eat up the nations his enemies, And shall break their bones, And pierce them through with his arrows. He 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.

And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. He 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. “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. ‘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.”

By now Balaam realized that GOD wanted to bless Israel. So he didn’t work in any sorcery as he had done earlier. He turned and looked out over the wilderness. As Balaam looked, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God came on him, and he spoke his oracle-message: Decree of Balaam son of Beor, yes, decree of a man with 20/20 vision; Decree of a man who hears God speak, who sees what The Strong God shows him, Who falls on his face in worship, who sees what’s really going on. What beautiful tents, Jacob, oh, your homes, Israel! Like valleys stretching out in the distance, like gardens planted by rivers, Like sweet herbs planted by the gardener GOD, like red cedars by pools and springs, Their buckets will brim with water, their seed will spread life everywhere. Their king will tower over Agag and his ilk, their kingdom surpassingly majestic. God brought them out of Egypt, rampaging like a wild ox, Gulping enemies like morsels of meat, crushing their bones, snapping their arrows. Israel crouches like a lion and naps, king-of-the-beasts—who dares disturb him? Whoever blesses you is blessed, whoever curses you is cursed.

And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then 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; The declaration of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered, How pleasant are your tents, Jacob, Your dwelling places, Israel! “Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside a river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. “Water 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. “God 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. “He 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.”

And Balaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel living in their tents tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came on him. He took up his [third] discourse (oracle) and said: “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened [at last, to see clearly the purpose and will of God], The oracle of one who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, but having his eyes open and uncovered, How fair are your tents, O Jacob, And your tabernacles, O Israel! “Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. [Ps 1:3] “Water [that is, great blessings] will flow from his buckets, And his offspring will live by many waters, And his king will be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. “God brought Israel out of Egypt; Israel has strength like the wild ox; He will devour [Gentile] nations, his adversaries (enemies), And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows. “He bowed down [to rest], he lies down as a lion; And as a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed [of God] is he who blesses you, And cursed [of God] is he who curses you.” [Matt 25:40]

When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he uttered this oracle: “The oracle of Balaam son of Beor; the oracle of the man whose eyes are open; the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, although falling flat on the ground with eyes open: ‘How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, and your dwelling places, O Israel! They are like valleys stretched forth, like gardens by the river’s side, like aloes that the LORD has planted, and like cedar trees beside the waters. He will pour the water out of his buckets, and their descendants will be like abundant water; their king will be greater than Agag, and their kingdom will be exalted. God brought them out of Egypt. They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull; they will devour hostile people and will break their bones and will pierce them through with arrows. They crouch and lie down like a lion, and as a lioness, who can stir him? Blessed is the one who blesses you, and cursed is the one who curses you!’”