1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many:and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4
And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up
all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the
field.
And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying,
Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt:behold, they cover the
face of the earth, and they abide over against me:6 Come now therefore, I
pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for
me:peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may
drive them out of the land:for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
8
And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word
again, as the Lord shall speak unto me:and the princes of Moab abode
with Balaam.
9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
10
And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath
sent unto me, saying, 11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt,
which covereth the face of the earth:come now, curse me them;
peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people:for they are blessed.
(This should have ended the matter ... but Balaam wanted the reward the world could give to him.)
13
And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak,
Get you into your land:for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with
you. 14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and
said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son
of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me:come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18
And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would
give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word
of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
(Words
spoken by Balaam sound right ... but Balaam's heart desires that which
Balak can give him so he is going to go to God and see if God will
approve him ... perhaps God has changed HIS mind, Balaam must think.)
19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.
20
And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come
to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall
say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 And God's anger was kindled because he went:and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him.
(God
told Balaam he could go ... Balaam wanted to go and this is exactly
what he desired to hear from God so he could do what he wanted to do ...
so Balaam went and God was very angry because Balaam chose this way and
acted on his own desires to go with Balak's men.)
Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand:and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field:and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall:and he smote her again.
26
And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place,
where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam:and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29
And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me:I would there
were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast
ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so
unto thee?
And he said, Nay.
31
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the
Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand:and he bowed
down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before
me:33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times:unless
she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her
alive.
(perverse: showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences ... stubborn: having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments to do so)
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me:now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
(It won't work to try to go back and do what God said to do when you have already rejected that word.)
35
And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men:but only
the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.
So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was
come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the
border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.
37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?
38
And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee:have I now any
power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth,
that shall I speak.
(Balaam's words sound
right but that perverseness is still in Balaam ... Later in NT book of
II Peter 2, we read about Balaam and it is described by Peter as "the madness of the prophet."
II
Peter 2 ... 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease
from sin; beguiling unstable souls:an heart they have exercised with
covetous practices; cursed children:15 Which have forsaken the right
way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the
son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked
for his iniquity:the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
Balaam is also referred to in the NT book of Jude:
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed
about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing
accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of
those things which they know not:but what they know naturally, as brute
beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you,
feeding themselves without fear:clouds they are without water, carried
about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead,)
39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto
Kirjathhuzoth. 40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam,
and to the princes that were with him. 41 And it came to pass on the
morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places
of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.
Numbers 23 ...1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go:peradventure the Lord will come to meet me:and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee.
And he went to an high place. 4 And God met Balaam:and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
5 And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. 6
And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he,
and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said,
Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
Come, curse me Jacob,
and come, defy Israel.
8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?
or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
and from the hills I behold him:
lo, the people shall dwell alone,
and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
and the number of the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
and let my last end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?
13
And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place,
from whence thou mayest see them:thou shalt see but the utmost part of
them, and shalt not see them all:and curse me them from thence.
14
And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and
built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
15 And he (Balaam) said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder.
16 And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
17
And when he (Balaam) came to him (Balak), behold, he stood by his burnt
offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him,
What hath the Lord spoken?
18 And he (Balaam) took up his parable, and said,
Rise up, Balak, and hear;
hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent:
hath he said, and shall he not do it?
or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless:and he hath blessed;
and I cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,
neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel:
the Lord his God is with him,
and the shout of a king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
(God brought us out of the bondage of this world)
he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
neither is there any divination against Israel:
according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought!
24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion,
and lift up himself as a young lion:
he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.
25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?
27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.
28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon.
29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Numbers 24 ... 1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the
Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for
enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 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.
3 And he took up his parable, and said,
Balaam the son of Beor hath said,
and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
4 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:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob,
and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 And 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. 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place:I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.
12
And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which
thou sentest unto me, saying, 13 If 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? 14 And 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.
15 And he took up his parable, and said,
Balaam the son of Beor hath said,
and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God,
and knew the knowledge of the most High,
which saw the vision of the Almighty,
falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now:
I shall behold him, but not nigh:
there shall come a Star out of Jacob,
and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
and shall smite the corners of Moab,
and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession,
Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies;
and Israel shall do valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion,
and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said,
Amalek was the first of the nations;
but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said,
Strong is thy dwelling place,
and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted,
until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
23 And he took up his parable, and said,
Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,
and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber,
and he also shall perish for ever.
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place:and Balak also went his way.