Numbers 24:18-20

24:18 Edom will be a possession,

Seir, ¹  his enemies, will also be a possession;

but Israel will act valiantly.

24:19 A ruler will be established from Jacob;

he will destroy the remains of the city.’” ² 

Balaam’s Final Prophecies

24:20 Then Balaam ³  looked on Amalek and delivered this oracle: ⁴ 

“Amalek was the first ⁵  of the nations,

but his end will be that he will perish.”

[24:18]  ¹ sn Seir is the chief mountain range of Edom (Deut 33:2), and so the reference here is to the general area of Edom.

[24:19]  ² tn Or, understanding the Hebrew word for “city” as a place name, “of Ir” (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[24:20]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Balaam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he lifted up his oracle and said.” So also in vv. 21, 23.

[24:20]  ⁵ sn This probably means that it held first place, or it thought that it was “the first of the nations.” It was not the first, either in order or greatness.