Balaam’s First Oracle

¹Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

²So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

³“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.”So Balaam went off to a barren height,

⁴and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

⁵Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.”

⁶So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.

⁷And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying:“Balak brought me from Aram,the king of Moab from the mountains of the east.‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me;come and denounce Israel!’

⁸How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?

⁹For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs,and I watch them from the hills.Behold, a people dwelling apart,not reckoning themselves among the nations.

¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacobor number even a fourth of Israel?Let me die the death of the righteous;let my end be like theirs!”

¹¹Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!”

¹²But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Oracle

¹³Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”

¹⁴So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

¹⁵Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”

¹⁶And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.”

¹⁷So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab.“What did the LORD say?” Balak asked.

¹⁸Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying:“Arise, O Balak, and listen;give ear to me, O son of Zippor.

¹⁹God is not a man, that He should lie,or a son of man, that He should change His mind.Does He speak and not act?Does He promise and not fulfill?

²⁰I have indeed received a command to bless;He has blessed, and I cannot change it.

²¹He considers no disaster for Jacob;He sees no trouble for Israel.The LORD their God is with them,and the shout of the King is among them.

²²God brought them out of Egyptwith strength like a wild ox.

²³For there is no spell against Jacoband no divination against Israel.It will now be said of Jacob and Israel,‘What great things God has done!’

²⁴Behold, the people rise like a lioness;they rouse themselves like a lion,not resting until they devour their preyand drink the blood of the slain.”

²⁵Now Balak said to Balaam, “Then neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

²⁶But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?”

²⁷“Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.”

²⁸And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland.

²⁹Then Balaam said, “Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”

³⁰So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balaam’s Third Oracle

¹And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not seek omens 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 Egyptwith 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 youand cursed are those who curse you.”

Balak Dismisses Balaam

¹⁰Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together and said to Balaam, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times.

¹¹Therefore, flee at once to your home! I said I would reward you richly, but instead the LORD has denied your reward.”

¹²Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not already tell the messengers you sent me

¹³that even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD? I must speak whatever the LORD says.

¹⁴Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”

Balaam’s Fourth Oracle

¹⁵Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying,“This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open,

¹⁶the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,who has knowledge from the Most High,who sees a vision from the Almighty,who bows down with eyes wide open:

¹⁷I see him, but not now;I behold him, but not near.A star will come forth from Jacob,and a scepter will arise from Israel.He will crush the skullsof Moaband strike down all the sons of Sheth.

¹⁸Edom will become a possession,as will Seir, his enemy;but Israel will perform with valor.

¹⁹A ruler will come from Jacoband destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Final Three Oracles

²⁰Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying:“Amalek was first among the nations,but his end is destruction.”

²¹Next he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying:“Your dwelling place is secure,and your nest is set in a cliff.

²²Yet Kain will be destroyedwhen Asshurtakes you captive.”

²³Once more Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying:“Ah, who can liveunless God has ordained it?

²⁴Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus;they will subdue Asshur and Eber,but they too will perish forever.”

²⁵Then Balaam arose and returned to his homeland, and Balak also went on his way.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

¹During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD.And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”

²At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)

³So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”

⁴The Gibeonites said to him, “We need no silver or gold from Saul or his house, nor should you put to death anyone in Israel for us.”“Whatever you ask, I will do for you,” he replied.

⁵And they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us to exterminate us from existing within any border of Israel,

⁶let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang thembefore the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.”“I will give them to you,” said the king.

⁷Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

⁸But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, as well as the five sons whom Merabdaughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

⁹And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So all seven of them fell together; they were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest.

¹⁰And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

¹¹When David was told what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done,

¹²he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.

¹³So David had the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan brought from there, and they also gathered the bones of those who had been hanged.

¹⁴And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish.After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.

Four Battles against the Philistines

¹⁵Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines. But David became exhausted.

¹⁶Then Ishbi-benob, a descendant of Rapha,whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekelsand who was bearing a new sword, resolved to kill David.

¹⁷But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him.Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”

¹⁸Some time later at Gob, there was another battle with the Philistines. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph,a descendant of Rapha.

¹⁹Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jairthe Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliaththe Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

²⁰And there was also a battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended from Rapha,

²¹and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimeikilled him.

²²So these four descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.

Hear My Righteous Plea

¹Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea;listen to my cry.Give ear to my prayer—it comes from lips free of deceit.

²May my vindication come from Your presence;may Your eyes see what is right.

³You have tried my heart;You have visited me in the night.You have tested me and found no evil;I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

⁴As for the deeds of men—by the word of Your lipsI have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵My steps have held to Your paths;my feet have not slipped.

⁶I call on You, O God,for You will answer me.Incline Your ear to me;hear my words.

⁷Show the wonders of Your loving devotion,You who save by Your right handthose who seek refuge from their foes.

⁸Keep me as the apple ofYour eye;hide me in the shadow of Your wings

⁹from the wicked who assail me,from my mortal enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They have closed their callous hearts;their mouths speak with arrogance.

¹¹They have tracked us down, and now surround us;their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,

¹²like a lion greedy for prey,like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³Arise, O LORD, confront them!Bring them to their knees;deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

¹⁴from such men, O LORD, by Your hand—from men of the worldwhose portion is in this life.May You fill the bellies of Your treasured onesand satisfy their sons,so they leave their abundance to their children.

¹⁵As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness;when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.