Numbers 24 JPS Tanakh (1917)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Numbers like (22-2) in the text give the Hebrew verse numbering where it differs.
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
1 Y COMO vió Balaam que parecía bien á Jehová que él bendijese á Israel, no fué, como la primera y segunda vez, á encuentro de agüeros, sino que puso su rostro hacia el desierto;
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him.
2 Y alzando sus ojos, vió á Israel alojado por sus tribus; y el espíritu de Dios vino sobre él.
3 And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened;
3 Entonces tomó su parábola, y dijo: Dijo Balaam hijo de Beor, y dijo el varón de ojos abiertos:
4 The saying of him who heareth the words of God, who seeth the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes:
4 Dijo el que oyó los dichos de Dios, el que vió la visión del Omnipotente; caído, mas abiertos los ojos:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, thy dwellings, O Israel!
5 ¡Cuán hermosas son tus tiendas, oh Jacob, tus habitaciones, oh Israel!
6 As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted of the LORD, as cedars beside the waters;
6 Como arroyos están extendidas, como huertos junto al río, como lináloes plantados por Jehová, como cedros junto á las aguas.
7 Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters; and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
7 De sus manos destilarán aguas, y su simiente será en muchas aguas: y ensalzarse ha su rey más que Agag, y su reino será ensalzado.
8 God who brought him forth out of Egypt is for him like the lofty horns of the wild-ox; he shall eat up the nations that are his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with his arrows.
8 Dios lo sacó de Egipto; tiene fuerzas como de unicornio: comerá á las gentes sus enemigas, y desmenuzará sus huesos, y asaeteará con sus saetas.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, and cursed be every one that curseth thee.
9 Se encorvará para echarse como león, y como leona; ¿quién lo despertará? Benditos los que te bendijeren, y malditos los que te maldijeren.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam: 'I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
10 Entonces se encendió la ira de Balac contra Balaam, y batiendo sus palmas le dijo: Para maldecir á mis enemigos te he llamado, y he aquí los has resueltamente bendecido ya tres veces.
11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place; I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.'
11 Húyete, por tanto, ahora á tu lugar: yo dije que te honraría, mas he aquí que Jehová te ha privado de honra.
12 And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Spoke I not also to thy messengers that thou didst send unto me, saying:
12 Y Balaam le respondió: ¿No lo declaré yo también á tus mensajeros que me enviaste, diciendo:
13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what the LORD speaketh, that will I speak?
13 Si Balac me diese su casa llena de plata y oro, yo no podré traspasar el dicho de Jehová para hacer cosa buena ni mala de mi arbitrio; [mas] lo que Jehová hablare, eso diré yo?
14 And now, behold, I go unto my people; come, and I will announce to thee what this people shall do to thy people in the end of days.'
14 He aquí yo me voy ahora á mi pueblo: por tanto, ven, te indicaré lo que este pueblo ha de hacer á tu pueblo en los postrimeros días.
15 And he took up his parable, and said: The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, and the saying of the man whose eye is opened;
15 Y tomó su parábola, y dijo: Dijo Balaam hijo de Beor, dijo el varón de ojos abiertos:
16 The saying of him who heareth the words of God, and knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, who seeth the vision of the Almighty, fallen down, yet with opened eyes:
16 Dijo el que oyó los dichos de Jehová, y el que sabe la ciencia del Altísimo, el que vió la visión del Omnipotente; caído, mas abiertos los ojos:
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; there shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Seth.
17 Verélo, mas no ahora: lo miraré, mas no de cerca: saldrá ESTRELLA de Jacob, y levantaráse cetro de Israel, y herirá los cantones de Moab, y destruirá á todos los hijos de Seth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also, even his enemies, shall be a possession; while Israel doeth valiantly.
18 Y será tomada Edom, será también tomada Seir por sus enemigos, e Israel se portará varonilmente.
19 And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.
19 Y el de Jacob se enseñoreará, y destruirá de la ciudad lo que quedare.
20 And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable, and said: Amalek was the first of the nations; but his end shall come to destruction.
20 Y viendo á Amalec, tomó su parábola, y dijo: Amalec, cabeza de gentes; mas su postrimería perecerá para siempre.
21 And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said: Though firm be thy dwelling-place, and though thy nest be set in the rock;
21 Y viendo al Cineo, tomó su parábola, y dijo: Fuerte es tu habitación, pon en la peña tu nido:
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted; How long? Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
22 Que el Cineo será echado, cuando Assur te llevará cautivo.
23 And he took up his parable, and said: Alas, who shall live after God hath appointed him?
23 Todavía tomó su parábola, y dijo: ¡Ay! ¿quién vivirá cuando hiciere Dios estas cosas?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, and they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall come to destruction.
24 Y [vendrán] navíos de la costa de Cittim, y afligirán á Assur, afligirán también á Eber: mas él también perecerá para siempre.
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.
25 Entonces se levantó Balaam, y se fué, y volvióse á su lugar: y también Balac se fué por su camino.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Balaam
The son of Beor from Pethor, hired by Balak to curse Israel, who could only bless Israel after the angel of the LORD stopped his donkey, and who was later killed by the sword…
Cited in the guide: Numbers 22:5; Numbers 22:12; Numbers 24:3
Beor
The father of the diviner Balaam, whose home was Pethor by the Euphrates.
Cited in the guide: Numbers 22:5; Numbers 24:3; Deuteronomy 23:4
Cross references (24)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Numbers 23:23; Revelation 2:14; Numbers 23:15; Numbers 23:28; Numbers 31:16
- 2 1 Samuel 19:20; 2 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:23; Numbers 2:2–34
- 3 Numbers 23:7; Numbers 24:16; Numbers 23:18; Numbers 24:4; Numbers 22:31
- 4 Revelation 1:17; Revelation 1:10; 2 Corinthians 12:1–4; Numbers 12:6; Ezekiel 1:28
- 6 Psalm 1:3; Isaiah 58:11; Psalm 104:16; Song of Songs 6:11; Psalm 45:8
- 7 2 Samuel 5:12; 1 Chronicles 14:2; Jeremiah 51:13; Revelation 17:1; Revelation 19:16
- 8 Psalm 45:5; Psalm 2:9; Numbers 23:22; Numbers 14:9; Numbers 23:24
- 9 Genesis 12:3; Genesis 27:29; Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24; Matthew 25:45
- 10 Ezekiel 21:14; Numbers 23:11; Ezekiel 21:17; Ezekiel 22:13; Nehemiah 13:2
- 11 Numbers 22:17; Numbers 22:37; Acts 8:20; Philippians 3:8; 1 Peter 5:2–3
- 12 Numbers 22:18; Numbers 22:38
- 13 Numbers 16:28; Numbers 22:20; Numbers 22:18
- 14 Micah 6:5; Genesis 49:1; Revelation 2:14; Daniel 2:28; 2 Timothy 3:1
- 15 Numbers 24:3–4; Numbers 23:7; Numbers 23:18; Job 27:1; Matthew 13:35
- 16 Numbers 24:4; 1 Corinthians 13:2; 1 Corinthians 8:1; 2 Samuel 23:1–2
- 17 Revelation 22:16; Luke 1:32–33; Genesis 49:10; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 11:15
- 18 Amos 9:12; 2 Samuel 8:14; Genesis 27:29; Isaiah 63:1; Psalm 60:8–12
- 19 Genesis 49:10; Matthew 28:18; Psalm 2:1–12; Micah 5:2; Revelation 19:16
- 20 Exodus 17:14; Exodus 17:8; Esther 7:9–10; Esther 9:14; 1 Samuel 30:1
- 21 Genesis 15:19; Job 29:18; Judges 1:16
- 22 Psalm 83:8; Genesis 10:11; Genesis 10:22; Ezra 4:2; Hosea 14:3
- 23 Numbers 23:23; Malachi 3:2; 2 Kings 5:1
- 24 Genesis 10:4; Daniel 11:30; Numbers 24:20; Genesis 10:21–25; Daniel 10:20
- 25 Numbers 31:8; Numbers 24:11; Joshua 13:22
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… Gospel; and His Son, who was of the fruit of David's body, that is, of the virgin of [the house of] David, and Emmanuel; whose star also Balaam thus prophesied: "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a leader shall rise in Israel." But Matthew says that the Magi, coming from the east, exclaimed "For we have seen …
And the similar passage in Numbers, He couched, He lay down as a lion, and as a lion's whelp.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)