Numbers 23

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

And Balaam said to Balak, Make me here seven altars and get ready seven oxen and seven male sheep.

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

And Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam made an offering on every altar of an ox and a male sheep.

3 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.

Then Balaam said to Balak, Take your place by your burned offering, and I will go and see if the Lord comes to me: and I will give you word of whatever he says to me. And he went to an open place on a hill.

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.

And God came to Balaam, and Balaam said to him, I have made ready seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.

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

And the Lord put words in Balaam's mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.

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 he went back to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with all the chiefs of Moab.

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.

And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, From Aram Balak has sent for me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: come, put curses on Jacob for me and be angry with Israel.

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

How may I put curses on him who is not cursed by God? how may I be angry with him with whom the Lord is not angry?

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 amongst the nations.

From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations.

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 is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his!

11 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].

Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing.

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

And in answer he said, Am I not ordered to say only what the Lord puts into my mouth?

13 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.

And Balak said to him, Come with me now into another place from which you will not be able to see them all, but only the outskirts of them; and you will send curses on them from there.

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 him into the country of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and there they made seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.

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

Then he said to Balak, Take your place here by your burned offering, while I go over there to the Lord.

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

And the Lord came to Balaam, and put words in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.

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?

So he came to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with the chiefs of Moab by his side. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said?

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

And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, Up! Balak, and give ear; give attention to me, O 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, to say what is false; or the son of man, that his purpose may be changed: what he has said, will he not do? and will he not give effect to the words of his mouth?

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

See, I have had orders to give blessing: and he has given a blessing which I have no power to take away.

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 evil in Jacob or wrongdoing in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the glad cry of a king is among them.

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

It is God who has taken them out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain 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.

No evil power has effect against Jacob, no secret arts against Israel; at the right time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel, See 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.

See, Israel comes up like a she-lion, lifting himself up like a lion: he will take no rest till he has made a meal of those he has overcome, drinking the blood of those he has put to death.

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

Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing.

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

But Balaam in answer said to Balak, Did I not say to you, I may only do what the Lord says?

27 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.

Then Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take you to another place; it may be that God will let you put a curse on them from there.

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

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, looking down over the waste land.

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

And Balaam said to Balak, Make me seven altars here and get seven oxen and seven male sheep ready for me.

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

And Balak did as Balaam said, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.