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Sunday, August 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Numbers 24:2

He looked out across the desert and saw all the Israelites. They were camped with the tribes in their different areas. Then the Spirit of God came on him,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Balaam;   Holy Spirit;   Prophets;   Thompson Chain Reference - Balaam;   Holy Spirit;   Power;   Spirit;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Prophecy;   Tents;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Prophets;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Balaam;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Holy Spirit;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Oracles;   Peor;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Balaam;   Balak;   Moab, Moabites;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Targums;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Camp;   Jephthah;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Balaam;   Holy Spirit;   Prophecy;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Aloes;   Holy Spirit;   Inspiration;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Bil`am lifted up his eyes, and he saw Yisra'el dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him.
King James Version
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Lexham English Bible
Balaam lift up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes, and the spirit of God was upon it.
English Standard Version
And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,
New Century Version
When Balaam saw the Israelites camped in their tribes, the Spirit of God took control of him,
New English Translation
When Balaam lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Amplified Bible
And Balaam raised his eyes and he saw Israel living in their tents tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came on him.
New American Standard Bible
And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Balaam lift vp his eyes, & looked vpon Israel, which dwelt according to their tribes, and the Spirit of God came vpon him.
Legacy Standard Bible
And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Contemporary English Version
and saw the tribes of Israel camped below. Just then, God's Spirit took control of him,
Complete Jewish Bible
Bil‘am raised his eyes and saw Isra'el encamped tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,
Darby Translation
And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling [in tents] according to his tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
George Lamsa Translation
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel encamping, tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Good News Translation
and saw the people of Israel camped tribe by tribe. The spirit of God took control of him,
Christian Standard Bible®
When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him,
Literal Translation
And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping, by its tribes. And the Spirit of God was on him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
lifte vp his eyes, and sawe Israel, how they laye acordinge to their trybes, and the sprete of God came vpon him,
American Standard Version
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Bible in Basic English
And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel there, with their tents in the order of their tribes: and the spirit of God came on him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Balaam lift vp his eyes, and loked vpon Israel as he lay accordyng to his tribes, and the spirite of God came vpon hym.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him.
King James Version (1611)
And Balaam lift vp his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents, according to their Tribes: and the Spirit of God came vpon him.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and sees Israel encamped by their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
English Revised Version
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Berean Standard Bible
When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and reiside iyen, and siy Israel dwellynge in tentis bi hise lynagis. And whanne the Spirit of God felde on hym, and whanne a parable was takun,
Young's Literal Translation
and Balaam lifteth up his eyes, and seeth Israel tabernacling, by its tribes, and the Spirit of God is upon him,
Update Bible Version
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding [in his tents] according to their tribes, and the spirit of God came upon him.
World English Bible
Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him.
New King James Version
And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
New Living Translation
where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,
New Life Bible
Balaam looked up and saw Israel living in their tents by their families. And the Spirit of God came upon him.
New Revised Standard
Balaam looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel, dwelling, according to his tribes, - then came upon him the Spirit of God;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel abiding in their tents by their tribes: and the spirit of God rushing upon him,
Revised Standard Version
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Contextual Overview

1 Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, so he did not try to change that by using any kind of magic. But Balaam turned and looked toward the desert. 2 He looked out across the desert and saw all the Israelites. They were camped with the tribes in their different areas. Then the Spirit of God came on him, 3 and he gave this message: "This message is from Balaam son of Beor. I am speaking about things I see clearly. 4 These are the words I heard from God. I saw what God All-Powerful showed me. I humbly tell what I clearly see. 5 "People of Jacob, your tents are beautiful! Israelites, your homes are beautiful! 6 You are like rows of palm trees planted by the streams. You are like gardens growing by the rivers. You are like sweet-smelling bushes planted by the Lord . You are like cedar trees growing by the water. 7 You will always have enough water, enough water for your seeds to grow. Your king will be greater than King Agag. Your kingdom will be very great. 8 "God brought them out of Egypt. They are as strong as a wild ox. They will defeat all their enemies. They will break their bones and shatter their arrows. 9 Israel is like a lion, curled up and lying down. Yes, they are like a young lion, and no one wants to wake him! Anyone who blesses you will be blessed. And anyone who curses you will have great troubles."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

abiding: Numbers 24:5, Numbers 2:2-34, Numbers 23:9, Numbers 23:10, Song of Solomon 6:4, Song of Solomon 6:10

the spirit: Numbers 11:25-29, 1 Samuel 10:10, 1 Samuel 19:20, 1 Samuel 19:23, 2 Chronicles 15:1, Matthew 7:22, Matthew 10:4, Matthew 10:8, Luke 10:20, John 11:49-51

Reciprocal: Leviticus 23:42 - General Numbers 1:52 - General Numbers 2:34 - so they Numbers 23:7 - parable 1 Kings 13:11 - an old prophet 2 Chronicles 20:14 - came the Spirit Daniel 8:3 - I lifted John 11:51 - he prophesied

Cross-References

Genesis 15:2
But Abram said, "Lord God , there is nothing you can give me that will make me happy, because I have no son. My slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die."
Genesis 24:4
Go back to my country, to my own people, to find a wife for my son Isaac. Bring her here to him."
Genesis 24:6
Abraham said to him, "No, don't take my son to that place.
Genesis 24:8
If the girl refuses to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back to that place."
Genesis 24:9
So the servant put his hand under his master's leg and made the promise.
Genesis 24:10
The servant took ten of Abraham's camels and left that place. The servant carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Mesopotamia, to Nahor's city.
Genesis 44:1
Then Joseph gave a command to his servant. He said, "Fill the men's sacks with as much grain as they can carry. Then put each man's money into his sack with the grain.
Genesis 47:29
The time came when Israel knew he would soon die, so he called his son Joseph to him. He said, "If you love me, put your hand under my leg and make a promise. Promise that you will do what I say and that you will be truthful with me. When I die, don't bury me in Egypt.
1 Chronicles 29:24
All the leaders, soldiers, and all of King David's sons accepted Solomon as king and obeyed him.
1 Timothy 5:17
The elders who lead the church in a good way should receive double honor—in particular, those who do the work of counseling and teaching.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Balaam lifted up his eyes,.... Being on Mount Peor:

and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; in that exact order in which they were directed to encamp under four standards, and so many tribes under each standard, Numbers 2:1

and the Spirit of God came upon him; not in his grace but in his gifts; not as a spirit of sanctification, but as a spirit of prophecy, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase it; and so sometimes the Spirit of God in this sense has come upon wicked men, as on Caiaphas and others, John 11:51.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Balaam gazed over the camp of Israel that stretched before him, and allowed the spectacle to work its own influence upon him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 24:2. The Spirit of God came upon him. — This Divine afflatus he had not expected on the present occasion, but God had not yet declared the whole of his will.


 
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