Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, August 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

Numbers 24:2

where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon 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.
Easy-to-Read Version
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,
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 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 By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness, 2 where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and this is the message he delivered: "This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, 4 the message of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: 5 How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel! 6 They spread before me like palm groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees planted by the Lord , like cedars beside the waters. 7 Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. 8 God brought them out of Egypt; for them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that oppose him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with arrows. 9 Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you."

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 replied, "O Sovereign Lord , what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
Genesis 24:4
Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac."
Genesis 24:6
"No!" Abraham responded. "Be careful never to take my son there.
Genesis 24:8
If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there."
Genesis 24:9
So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham's instructions.
Genesis 24:10
Then he loaded ten of Abraham's camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham's brother Nahor had settled.
Genesis 44:1
When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to his palace manager: "Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man's money back into his sack.
Genesis 47:29
As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said to him, "Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Egypt.
1 Chronicles 29:24
All the officials, the warriors, and the sons of King David pledged their loyalty to King Solomon.
1 Timothy 5:17
Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching 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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