Numbers 22:11-12
22:11 “Look, a nation has come out
of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Come now and put a curse on them for me; perhaps I will be able to defeat them
and drive them out.”
22:12 But God said to Balaam, “You must not go with them; you must not curse the people,
for they are blessed.”
Numbers 22:18-20
22:18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak would give me his palace full of silver and gold, I could not transgress the commandment of the Lord my God to do less or more.
22:19 Now therefore, please stay the night here also, that I may know what more the Lord might say to me.”
22:20 God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.”
Numbers 22:35
22:35 But the angel of the
Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak
the word that I will speak to you.”
So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Numbers 23:3-12
23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself
by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the
Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me
I will tell you.”
Then he went to a deserted height.
23:4 Then God met Balaam, who said to him, “I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
23:5 Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
23:6 So he returned to him, and he was still standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
23:7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying,
“Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram,
out of the mountains of the east, saying,
‘Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.’
23:8 How can I curse one whom God has not cursed,
or how can I denounce one whom the Lord has not denounced?
23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see them;
from the hills I watch them.
Indeed, a nation that lives alone,
and it will not be reckoned among the nations.
23:10 Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let the end of my life be like theirs.”
Balaam Relocates
23:11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but on the contrary you have only blessed them!”
23:12 Balaam replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”
Numbers 23:15-26
23:15 And Balaam
said to Balak, “Station yourself here
by your burnt offering, while I meet the
Lord there.
23:16 Then the
Lord met Balaam and put a message
in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and speak what I tell you.”
23:17 When Balaam
came to him, he was still standing by his burnt offering, along with the princes of Moab. And Balak said to him, “What has the
Lord spoken?”
Balaam Prophesies Again
23:18 Balaam uttered his oracle, and said,
“Rise up, Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor:
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a human being, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen?
23:20 Indeed, I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.
23:21 He has not looked on iniquity in Jacob,
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
his acclamation as king is among them.
23:22 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a wild bull.
23:23 For there is no spell against Jacob,
nor is there any divination against Israel.
At this time it must be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘Look at what God has done!’
23:24 Indeed, the people will rise up like a lioness,
and like a lion raises himself up;
they will not lie down until they eat their prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.”
Balaam Relocates Yet Again
23:25 Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”
23:26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord speaks, I must do’?”
Numbers 24:5-10
24:5 ‘How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
and your dwelling places, O Israel!
24:6 They are like valleys stretched forth,
like gardens by the river’s side,
like aloes that the Lord has planted,
and like cedar trees beside the waters.
24:7 He will pour the water out of his buckets,
and their descendants will be like abundant water;
their king will be greater than Agag,
and their kingdom will be exalted.
24:8 God brought them out of Egypt.
They have, as it were, the strength of a young bull;
they will devour hostile people
and will break their bones
and will pierce them through with arrows.
24:9 They crouch and lie down like a lion,
and as a lioness, who can stir him?
Blessed is the one who blesses you,
and cursed is the one who curses you!’”
24:10 Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times!
Isaiah 54:17
54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.
This is what the Lord will do for his servants –
I will vindicate them,”
says the Lord.