And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
Parallel translations
- WEB He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his latter end shall come to destruction.”
- BSB Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”
- NKJV Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.”
- NASB And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his end shall be destruction.”
- NLT Then Balaam looked over toward the people of Amalek and delivered this message: “Amalek was the greatest of nations, but its destiny is destruction!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Balaam pronounces that Amalek, first among the nations, will come to ultimate destruction. The oracle foretells the downfall of Israel's ancient enemy.
Overview
Amalek had attacked Israel shortly after the exodus and was marked for judgment. Balaam's words foresee Amalek's eventual ruin, fulfilled over time and decisively in later history. The prophecy shows that those who oppose God's people stand under divine judgment, however prominent they may once have been.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 17:14And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
- Esth 7:9–10And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
- 1 Sam 30:17And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
- Esth 9:14And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
- 1 Sam 30:1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
- 1 Sam 27:8–9And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
- Esth 3:1After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
- Judg 6:3And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
- Exod 17:8Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
- 1 Sam 14:48And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.
- Exod 17:16For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
- 1 Chr 4:43And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.
- 1 Sam 15:3–8Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 24:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.