Numbers 23

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

Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”

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

So Balak did as Balaam requested. Then Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

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

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand at your burnt offering and I will go. Perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” So he went away to a hilltop with no trees.

4 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.

While he was on the hilltop, God met him, and Balaam said to him, “I have built seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each one.”

5 And God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, and said, thou shalt return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.

Yahweh put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, “Return to Balak and speak to him.”

6 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.

So Balaam returned to Balak, who was standing by his burnt offering, and all the leaders of Moab were with him.

7 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.

Then Balaam began to speak his prophecy and said, “Balak has brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. 'Come, curse Jacob for me,' he said. 'Come, defy Israel.'

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

How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I oppose those whom Yahweh does not oppose?

9 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 among the nations.

For from the top of the rocks I see him; from the hills I look at him. See, there is a people who live alone and do not consider themselves as just an ordinary nation.

10 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.

Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even only one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of a righteous person, and let my life's end be like his!”

11 And Balac said to Balaam, What hast thou done to me? I called thee to curse my enemies, and behold thou hast greatly blessed [them].

Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have blessed them.”

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

Balaam answered and said, “Should I not be careful to say only what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”

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

So Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the nearest of them, not all of them. There you will curse them for me.”

14 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.

So he took Balaam into the field of Zophim, to the top of Mount Pisgah, and built seven more altars. He offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.

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

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet with Yahweh over there.”

16 And God met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, and said, return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.

So Yahweh met Balaam and put a message in his mouth. He said, “Return to Balak and give him my message.”

17 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?

Balaam returned to him, and look, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab were with him. Then Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh said?”

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

Balaam began his prophecy. He said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear. Listen to me, you son of Zippor.

19 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]?

God is not a man, that he should lie, Or a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he promised anything without doing it? Has he said he would do something without carrying it out?

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

Look, I have been commanded to bless. God has given a blessing, and I cannot reverse it.

21 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.

He has seen no hardship in Jacob or trouble in Israel. Yahweh their God is with them, and shouts for their king are among them.

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

God brought them out of Egypt with strength like that of a wild ox.

23 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.

There is no sorcery that works against Jacob, and no fortune-telling harms Israel. Instead, it must be said about Jacob and Israel, 'Look what God has done!'

24 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.

Look, the people rise like a lioness, as a lion emerges and attacks. He does not lie down until he eats his victim and drinks the blood of what he has killed.”

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

Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them or bless them at all.”

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

But Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you that I must say all that Yahweh tells me to say?”

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

So Balak replied to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God for you to curse them there for me.”

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

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which looks down on the wilderness.

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

Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”

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

So Balak did as Balaam had said; he offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.