1And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness. 2When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him, 3and he lifted up an oracle, saying:
“This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,
4the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who bows down with eyes wide open:
5How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwellings, O Israel!
6They spread out like palm groves,
like gardens beside a stream,
like aloes the LORD has planted,
like cedars beside the waters.
7Water will flow from his buckets,
and his seed will have abundant water.
His king will be greater than Agag,
and his kingdom will be exalted.
8God brought him out of Egypt
with strength like a wild ox,
to devour hostile nations and crush their bones,
to pierce them with arrows.
9He crouches, he lies down like a lion;
like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
Blessed are those who bless you
and cursed are those who curse you.”
Blessed and Cursed!
“Blessed are those who bless you
and cursed are those who curse you.” Poor Balak!
“Each of the first three prophecies, it has gotten worse for Balak. In the first one, Balaam fails to curse Israel; in the second, he blesses Israel, and in the third, he curses Balak! How much worse can it get for the king of Moab?” (Guzik)
Blessings
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