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Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam

¹ And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to ^(F1)encounter ^(C1)omens, but he set his face toward the ^(C2)wilderness.² And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and ^(C1)the Spirit of God came upon him.³ Then he took up his ^(F1)discourse and said,

"^(C1)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;

⁴ The oracle of him who ^(C1)hears the ^(F1)words of God,
Who beholds the ^(C2)vision of ^(F2)the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,

⁵ How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!

⁶ "Like ^(F1)valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like ^(C1)aloes planted by Yahweh,
Like ^(C2)cedars beside the waters.

⁷ "Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be lifted up higher than ^(C1)Agag,
^(C2)And his kingdom shall be exalted.

⁸ "^(C1)God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
^(C2)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will gnaw their bones in pieces,
And ^(F1)shatter them with his ^(C3)arrows.

⁹ "^(C1)He ^(F1)crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a ^(F2)lion, who ^(F3)dares rouse him?
^(C2)Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you."

¹⁰ Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ^(F1)hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly these three times!¹¹ "So now, ^(F1)flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor."¹² And Balaam said to Balak, "^(C1)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying,¹³ 'Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the ^(F1)command of Yahweh, either good or bad, ^(C1)of my own ^(F2)accord. ^(C2)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak'?¹⁴ "So now, behold, ^(C1)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the last days."

Oracle of Balaam

¹⁵ Then he took up his discourse and said,

"^(C1)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered,

¹⁶ The oracle of him who hears the ^(F1)words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the ^(F2)Most High,
Who beholds the vision of the ^(F3)Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened.

¹⁷ "I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
^(C1)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
^(C2)And shall crush through the ^(F1)forehead of Moab,
And ^(F2)tear down all the sons of ^(F3)Sheth.

¹⁸ "^(C1)And Edom shall be a possession,
^(C2)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.

¹⁹ "And one from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will make the survivor perish from the city."

²⁰ Then he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

"Amalek was the first of the nations,
^(C1)But his end shall be ^(F1)destruction."

²¹ Then he looked at the ^(C1)Kenite and took up his discourse and said,

"Your habitation is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.

²² "Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will ^(C1)Asshur ^(F1)keep you captive?"

²³ Then he took up his discourse and said,

"Woe, who can live except when God has ordained it?

²⁴ "But ships shall come from the coast of ^(C1)Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict ^(C2)Eber;
^(C3)So they also will come to destruction."

²⁵ Then Balaam arose and went and returned to ^(C1)his place, and Balak also went his way.