Numbers 23

1 And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.

And Balaam said to Balac, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, and seven rams.

2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken. And Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

And Balac did as Balaam told him; and he offered up a calf and a ram on [every] altar.

3 And Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps Jehovah will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height.

And Balaam said to Balac, Stand by your sacrifice, and I will go and see if God will appear to me and meet me, and the word which he shall show me, I will report to you. And Balac stood by his sacrifice.

4 And God met Balaam, and he said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

And Balaam went to enquire of God; and he went straight forward, and God appeared to Balaam; and Balaam said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and have offered a calf and a ram on [every] altar.

5 And Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus thou shall speak.

And God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, and said, you shall return to Balac, and thus shall you speak.

6 And he returned to him. And, lo, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the rulers of Moab.

And he returned to him, and moreover he stood over his whole burnt offerings, and all the princes of Moab with him; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

7 And he took up his oracle, and said, From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balac king of Moab sent for me out of Mesopotamia, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and Come, call for a curse for me upon Israel.

8 How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah has not defied?

How can I curse whom the Lord curses not? or how can I devote whom God devotes not?

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, it is a people that dwells alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

For from the top of the mountains I shall see him, and from the hills I shall observe him: behold, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned amongst the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

Who has exactly calculated the seed of Jacob, and who shall number the families of Israel? let my soul die with the souls of the righteous, and let my seed be as their seed.

11 And Balak said to Balaam, What have thou done to me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and, behold, thou have blessed them altogether.

And Balac said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I called you to curse my enemies, and behold you have greatly blessed [them].

12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Jehovah puts in my mouth?

And Balaam said to Balac, Whatsoever the Lord shall put into my mouth, shall I not take heed to speak this?

13 And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from where thou may see them. Thou shall see but the outmost part of them, and shall not see them all, and curse them for me from there.

And Balac said to him, Come yet with me to another place where you shall not see the people, but only you shall see a part of them, and shall not see them all; and curse me them from thence.

14 And he took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

And he took him to a high place of the field to the top of the quarried [rock], and he built there seven altars, and offered a calf and a ram on [every] altar.

15 And he said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet Jehovah yonder.

And Balaam said to Balac, Stand by your sacrifice, and I will go to enquire of God.

16 And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall thou speak.

And God met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, and said, return to Balac, and thus shall you speak.

17 And he came to him. And, lo, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the rulers of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What has Jehovah spoken?

And he returned to him: and he also was standing by his whole burnt sacrifice, and all the princes of Moab with him; and Balac said to him, What has the Lord spoken?

18 And he took up his oracle, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear. Hearken to me, thou son of Zippor.

And he took up his parable, and said, rise up, Balac, and hear; listen as a witness, you son of Sepphor.

19 God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?

God is not as man to waver, nor as the son of man to be threatened; shall he say and not perform? shall he speak and not keep [to his word]?

20 Behold, I have received to bless. And he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless: I will bless, and not turn back.

21 He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.

There shall not be trouble in Jacob, neither shall sorrow be seen in Israel: the Lord his God [is] with him, the glories of rulers [are] in him.

22 God brings them forth out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild-ox.

It was God who brought him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn.

23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God wrought!

For there is no divination in Jacob, nor enchantment in Israel; in season it shall be told to Jacob and Israel what God shall perform.

24 Behold, the people rise up as a lioness, and as a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.

Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion's whelp, and shall exalt himself as a lion; he shall not lie down till he have eaten the prey, and he shall drink the blood of the slain.

25 And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.

And Balac said to Balaam, Neither curse the people at all for me, nor bless them at all.

26 But Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaks, that I must do?

And Balaam answered and said to Balac, Spoke I not to you, saying, Whatsoever thing God shall speak to me, that will I do?

27 And Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take thee to another place. Perhaps it will please God that thou may curse them for me from there.

And Balac said to Balaam, Come [and] I will remove you to another place, if it shall please God, and curse me them from thence.

28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down upon the desert.

And Balac took Balaam to the top of Phogor, which extends to the wilderness.

29 And Balaam said to Balak, Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bullocks and seven rams.

And Balaam said to Balac, build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, and seven rams.

30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.

And Balac did as Balaam told him, and offered a calf and a ram on [every] altar.