Numbers 22

• 1. Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
• 2. Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, knew what the Israelites had done to the Amorites.
• 3. And when they saw how many Israelites there were, he and his people were terrified.
• 4. The king of Moab said to the leaders of Midian, "This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass!" So Balak, king of Moab,
• 5. sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. He sent this message to request that Balaam come to help him: "A vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me.
• 6. Please come and curse them for me because they are so numerous. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on the people you bless. I also know that the people you curse are doomed."
• 7. Balak's messengers, officials of both Moab and Midian, set out and took money with them to pay Balaam to curse Israel. They went to Balaam and urgently explained to him what Balak wanted.
• 8. "Stay here overnight," Balaam said. "In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say." So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.
• 9. That night God came to Balaam and asked him, "Who are these men with you?"
• 10. So Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message:
• 11. `A vast horde of people has come from Egypt and has spread out over the whole land. Come at once to curse them. Perhaps then I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land.'"
• 12. "Do not go with them," God told Balaam. "You are not to curse these people, for I have blessed them!"
• 13. The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak's officials, "Go on home! The LORD will not let me go with you."
• 14. So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, "Balaam refused to come with us."
• 15. Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time.
• 16. They went to Balaam and gave him this message: "This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don't let anything stop you from coming.
• 17. I will pay you well and do anything you ask of me. Just come and curse these people for me!"
• 18. But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak were to give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God.
• 19. But stay here one more night to see if the LORD has anything else to say to me."
• 20. That night God came to Balaam and told him, "Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But be sure to do only what I tell you to do."
• 21. So the next morning Balaam saddled his donkey and started off with the Moabite officials.
• 22. But God was furious that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,
• 23. Balaam's donkey suddenly saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.
• 24. Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.
• 25. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing there, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.
• 26. Then the angel of the LORD moved farther down the road and stood in a place so narrow that the donkey could not get by at all.
• 27. This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat it again with his staff.
• 28. Then the LORD caused the donkey to speak. "What have I done to you that deserves your beating me these three times?" it asked Balaam.
• 29. "Because you have made me look like a fool!" Balaam shouted. "If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!"
• 30. "But I am the same donkey you always ride on," the donkey answered. "Have I ever done anything like this before?No," he admitted.
• 31. Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam fell face down on the ground before him.
• 32. "Why did you beat your donkey those three times?" the angel of the LORD demanded. "I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me.
• 33. Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey."
• 34. Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will go back home if you are against my going."
• 35. But the angel of the LORD told him, "Go with these men, but you may say only what I tell you to say." So Balaam went on with Balak's officials.
• 36. When King Balak heard that Balaam was on the way, he went out to meet him at a Moabite town on the Arnon River at the border of his land.
• 37. "Did I not send you an urgent invitation? Why didn't you come right away?" Balak asked Balaam. "Didn't you believe me when I said I would reward you richly?"
• 38. Balaam replied, "I have come, but I have no power to say just anything. I will speak only the messages that God gives me."
• 39. Then Balaam accompanied Balak to Kiriath-huzoth,
• 40. where the king sacrificed cattle and sheep. He sent portions of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him.
• 41. The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the people of Israel spread out below him.

Numbers 23

• 1. Balaam said to King Balak, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice."
• 2. Balak followed his instructions, and the two of them sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar.
• 3. Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the LORD will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So Balaam went alone to the top of a hill,
• 4. and God met him there. Balaam said to him, "I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar."
• 5. Then the LORD gave Balaam a message for King Balak and said, "Go back to Balak and tell him what I told you."
• 6. When Balaam returned, the king was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab.
• 7. This was the prophecy Balaam delivered: "Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills. `Come,' he said, `curse Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel's doom.'
• 8. But how can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the LORD has not condemned?
• 9. I see them from the cliff tops; I watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set apart from other nations.
• 10. Who can count Jacob's descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of Israel's people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end like theirs."
• 11. Then King Balak demanded of Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!"
• 12. But Balaam replied, "Can I say anything except what the LORD tells me?"
• 13. Then King Balak told him, "Come with me to another place. There you will see only a portion of the nation of Israel. Curse at least that many!"
• 14. So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.
• 15. Then Balaam said to the king, "Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the LORD."
• 16. So the LORD met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."
• 17. So Balaam returned to the place where the king and the officials of Moab were standing beside Balak's burnt offerings. "What did the LORD say?" Balak asked eagerly.
• 18. This was the prophecy Balaam delivered: "Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.
• 19. God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not a human, that he should change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
• 20. I received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
• 21. No misfortune is in sight for Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel. For the LORD their God is with them; he has been proclaimed their king.
• 22. God has brought them out of Egypt; he is like a strong ox for them.
• 23. No curse can touch Jacob; no sorcery has any power against Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob, `What wonders God has done for Israel!'
• 24. These people rise up like a lioness; like a majestic lion they stand. They refuse to rest until they have feasted on prey, drinking the blood of the slaughtered!"
• 25. Then Balak said to Balaam, "If you aren't going to curse them, at least don't bless them!"
• 26. But Balaam replied, "Didn't I tell you that I must do whatever the LORD tells me?"
• 27. Then King Balak said to Balaam, "Come, I will take you to yet another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them from there."
• 28. So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, overlooking the wasteland.
• 29. Balaam again told Balak, "Build me seven altars and prepare me seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice."
• 30. So Balak did as Balaam ordered and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.

Numbers 24

• 1. By now Balaam realized that the LORD intended to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as he often did. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness,
• 2. where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,
• 3. and this is the prophecy he delivered: "This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of the man whose eyes see clearly,
• 4. who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls down with eyes wide open:
• 5. How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel!
• 6. They spread before me like groves of palms, like fruitful gardens by the riverside. They are like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters.
• 7. Water will gush out in buckets; their offspring are supplied with all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.
• 8. God brought them up from Egypt, drawing them along like a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows.
• 9. 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."
• 10. King 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.
• 11. Now get out of here! Go back home! I had planned to reward you richly, but the LORD has kept you from your reward."
• 12. Balaam told Balak, "Don't you remember what I told your messengers? I said,
• 13. `Even if Balak were to give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I am powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD.' I told you that I could say only what the LORD says!
• 14. Now I am returning to my own people. But first let me tell you what the Israelites will do to your people in the future."
• 15. This is the prophecy Balaam delivered: "This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of the man whose eyes see clearly,
• 16. who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls down with eyes wide open:
• 17. I see him, but not in the present time. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the foreheads of Moab's people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
• 18. Edom will be taken over, and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered, while Israel continues on in triumph.
• 19. A ruler will rise in Jacob who will destroy the survivors of Ir."
• 20. Then Balaam looked over at the people of Amalek and delivered this prophecy: "Amalek was the greatest of nations, but its destiny is destruction!"
• 21. Then he looked over at the Kenites and prophesied: "You are strongly situated; your nest is set in the rocks.
• 22. But the Kenites will be destroyed when Assyria takes you captive."
• 23. Balaam concluded his prophecies by saying: "Alas, who can survive when God does this?
• 24. Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus; they will oppress both Assyria and Eber, but they, too, will be utterly destroyed."
• 25. Then Balaam and Balak returned to their homes.

New Living Translation: 48 of 324 days.