Numbers 24:12-22

12 And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me,
13 "If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will; what the Lord says, that is what I will say'?
14 So now, I am going to my people; let me advise you what this people will do to your people in days to come."
15 So he uttered his oracle, saying: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear,
16 the oracle of one who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, but with his eyes uncovered:
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near— a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites.
18 Edom will become a possession, Seir a possession of its enemies, while Israel does valiantly.
19 One out of Jacob shall rule, and destroy the survivors of Ir."
20 Then he looked on Amalek, and uttered his oracle, saying: "First among the nations was Amalek, but its end is to perish forever."
21 Then he looked on the Kenite, and uttered his oracle, saying: "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock;
22 yet Kain is destined for burning. How long shall Asshur take you away captive?"

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Or [closed] or [open]
  • [b]. Or [of Elyon]
  • [c]. Traditional rendering of Heb [Shaddai]
  • [d]. Or [forehead]
  • [e]. Some Mss read [skull]
  • [f]. Heb [Seir, its enemies, a possession]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.