Numbers 24
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased
God to bless Israel, he did not go according to his custom to meet the omens,
but turned his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and
sees Israel encamped by their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his parable and said,
Balaam son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says,
4 he says who hears the oracle of the
Mighty One, who saw a vision of God in sleep; his eyes were opened:
5 How goodly
are thy habitations, Jacob, and thy tents, Israel!
6 as shady groves, and as gardens by a
river, and as tents which God pitched, and as cedars by the waters.
7 There shall come a man out of his
seed, and he shall rule over many nations; and the kingdom of Gog shall be
exalted, and his kingdom shall be increased.
8 God led him out of Egypt; he has as
it were the glory of a unicorn: he shall consume the nations of his enemies,
and he shall
aGr. suck the marrow out of their fat bones.drain their marrow, and with his darts he shall shoot through the enemy.
9 He lay down, he rested as a lion,
and as a young lion; who shall stir him up? they that bless thee are blessed,
and they that curse thee are cursed.
10 And Balac was angry with Balaam,
and clapped his hands together; and Balac said to Balaam, I called thee to
curse my enemy, and behold thou hast decidedly blessed
him this third time.
11 Now therefore flee to thy place: I
said, I will honour thee, but now the Lord has deprived thee of glory.
12 And Balaam said to Balac, Did I
not speak to thy messengers also whom thou sentest to me, saying,
13 If Balac should give me his house
full of silver and gold, I shall not be able to
bOr, go beyond.transgress the word of the Lord to make it good or bad by myself; whatsoever
things God shall say, them will I speak.
14 And now, behold, I return to my
place; come, I will advise thee of what this people shall do to thy people in
the last days.
15 And he took up his parable and
said,
Balaam the son of Beor says, the man who sees truly says,
16 hearing the oracles of God,
cGr. knowing knowledge.receiving knowledge from the Most High, and having seen a vision of God in
sleep; his eyes were
dOr, unveiled.opened. 17 I will point to him, but
not now; I bless him, but he draws not near: a star shall rise out of Jacob, a
man shall spring out of Israel; and shall crush the princes of Moab, and shall
spoil all the sons of Seth. 18 And
Edom shall be an inheritance, and Esau his enemy shall be an inheritance
of Israel, and Israel wrought valiantly.
19 And
one shall arise out of Jacob, and destroy out of the
city him that escapes. 20 And having
seen Amalec, he took up his parable and said, Amalec
is the first of the nations; yet his seed shall
perish. 21 And having seen the
Kenite, he took up his parable and said, Thy dwelling-place
is strong; yet though thou shouldest put thy nest in
a rock, 22 and though Beor should
have a
eGr. nest of cunning.skilfully contrived hiding-place, the Assyrians shall carry thee away
captive. 23 And he looked upon Og,
and took up his parable and said, Oh, oh, who shall live, when God shall
fGr. put.do these things? 24 And one shall
come forth from the hands of the Citians, and shall afflict Assur, and shall
afflict the
gOr, men of Heber.Hebrews, and they shall perish together.
25 And Balaam rose up and departed
and returned to his place, and Balac went
hGr. q. d. chez lui.to his own home.