NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Balaam: The Prophet Who Could Not Curse — February 13
Numbers 22-24
Numbers 22
1 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 365N 44.1
2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 365N 44.2
3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 365N 44.3
4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will [a] lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 365N 44.4
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near [b] the River in the land of [c] the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 365N 44.5
6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” 365N 44.6
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 365N 44.7
8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 365N 44.8
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 365N 44.9
10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 365N 44.10
11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ” 365N 44.11
12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 365N 44.12
13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.” 365N 44.13
14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 365N 44.14
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more [d] honorable than they. 365N 44.15
16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 365N 44.16
17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” 365N 44.17
18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. 365N 44.18
19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” 365N 44.19
20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 365N 44.20
21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 365N 44.21
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 365N 44.22
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 365N 44.23
24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 365N 44.24
25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord , she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 365N 44.25
26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 365N 44.26
27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord , she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 365N 44.27
28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 365N 44.28
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have [e] abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” 365N 44.29
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “ Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever [f] disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” 365N 44.30
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 365N 44.31
32 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out [g] to stand against you, because your way is perverse [h] before Me. 365N 44.32
33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.” 365N 44.33
34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord , “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it [i] displeases You, I will turn back.” 365N 44.34
35 Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 365N 44.35
36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 365N 44.36
37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” 365N 44.37
38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” 365N 44.38
39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 365N 44.39
40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. 365N 44.40
41 So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe [j] the extent of the people. 365N 44.41
Numbers 23
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 365N 44.42
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 365N 44.43
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. 365N 44.44
4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 365N 44.45
5 Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 365N 44.46
6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 365N 44.47
7 And he took up his [a] oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’ 365N 44.48
8 “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? 365N 44.49
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations. 365N 44.50
10 “Who can count the [b] dust of Jacob, Or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my end be like his!” 365N 44.51
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!” 365N 44.52
12 So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?” 365N 44.53
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 365N 44.54
14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 365N 44.55
15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I [c] meet the Lord over there.” 365N 44.56
16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 365N 44.57
17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 365N 44.58
18 Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! 365N 44.59
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 365N 44.60
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 365N 44.61
21 “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen [d] wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them. 365N 44.62
22 God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox. 365N 44.63
23 “For there is no [e] sorcery against Jacob, Nor any [f] divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ 365N 44.64
24 Look, a people rises like a lioness, And lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain.” 365N 44.65
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!” 365N 44.66
26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?” 365N 44.67
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 365N 44.68
28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the [g] wasteland. 365N 44.69
29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 365N 44.70
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar. 365N 44.71
Numbers 24
1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use [a] sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 365N 44.72
2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 365N 44.73
3 Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, 365N 44.74
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: 365N 44.75
5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! 365N 44.76
6 Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside, Like aloes planted by the Lord , Like cedars beside the waters. 365N 44.77
7 He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. 365N 44.78
8 “God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. 365N 44.79
9 ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.” 365N 44.80
10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 365N 44.81
11 Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.” 365N 44.82
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 365N 44.83
13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord , to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? 365N 44.84
14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” 365N 44.85
15 So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; 365N 44.86
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: 365N 44.87
17 “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And [b] batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of [c] tumult. 365N 44.88
18 “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does [d] valiantly. 365N 44.89
19 Out of Jacob One [e] shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.” 365N 44.90
20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.” 365N 44.91
21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; 365N 44.92
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” 365N 44.93
23 Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? 365N 44.94
24 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, [f] And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall [g] Amalek , until he perishes.” 365N 44.95
25 So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way. 365N 44.96