6 As valleys they have been stretched out, As gardens by a river; As aloes Jehovah hath planted, As cedars by waters;
And he hath been as a tree, Planted by rivulets of water, That giveth its fruit in its season, And its leaf doth not wither, And all that he doth he causeth to prosper.
Satisfied `are' the trees of Jehovah, Cedars of Lebanon that He hath planted,
And Jehovah God planteth a garden in Eden, at the east, and He setteth there the man whom He hath formed; and Jehovah God causeth to sprout from the ground every tree desirable for appearance, and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river is going out from Eden to water the garden, and from thence it is parted, and hath become four chief `rivers';
And Lot lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the whole circuit of the Jordan that it `is' all a watered country (before Jehovah's destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, as Jehovah's garden, as the land of Egypt,) in thy coming toward Zoar,
Myrrh and aloes, cassia! all thy garments, Out of palaces of ivory Stringed instruments have made thee glad.
A garden shut up `is' my sister-spouse, A spring shut up -- a fountain sealed. Thy shoots a paradise of pomegranates, With precious fruits, Cypresses with nard -- nard and saffron, Cane and cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices. A fount of gardens, a well of living waters, And flowings from Lebanon!
Unto a garden of nuts I went down, To look on the buds of the valley, To see whither the vine had flourished, The pomegranates had blossomed --
And Jehovah doth lead thee continually, And hath satisfied in drought thy soul, And thy bones He armeth, And thou hast been as a watered garden, And as an outlet of waters, whose waters lie not.
Let my pursuers be ashamed, and let not me be ashamed -- me! Let them be affrighted, and let not me be affrighted -- me! Bring in on them a day of evil, And a second time `with' destruction destroy them.
And they have come in, And have sung in the high place of Zion, And flowed unto the goodness of Jehovah, For wheat, and for new wine, and for oil, And for the young of the flock and herd, And their soul hath been as a watered garden, And they add not to grieve any more.
Lo, Asshur, a cedar in Lebanon, Fair in branch, and shading bough, and high in stature, And between thickets hath its foliage been. Waters have made it great, The deep hath exalted him with its flowings, Going round about its planting, And its conduits it hath sent forth unto all trees of the field.
And by the stream there cometh up on its edge, on this side and on that side, every `kind of' fruit-tree whose leaf fadeth not, and not consumed is its fruit, according to its months it yieldeth first-fruits, because its waters from the sanctuary are coming forth; and its fruits hath been for food, and its leaf for medicine.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 24
Commentary on Numbers 24 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 24
This chapter continues and concludes the history of the defeat of the counsels of Balak and Balaam against Israel, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts; and as great an instance it is of God's power over the children of men, and his favour towards his own children, as any of the victories recorded in the book of the wars of the Lord. What preparation was made the third time for the cursing of Israel we read of in the close of the foregoing chapter. In this chapter we are told,
Num 24:1-9
The blessing itself which Balaam here pronounces upon Israel is much the same with the two we had in the foregoing chapter; but the introduction to it is different.
Num 24:10-14
We have here the conclusion of this vain attempt to curse Israel, and the total abandonment of it.
Num 24:15-25
The office of prophets was both to bless and to prophesy in the name of the Lord. Balaam, as a prophet, per force had blessed Israel; here he foretels future events.