Numbers 23

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

And Balaam seide to Balaach, Bilde thou here to me seuene auteris, and make redi so many caluys, and rammes of the same noumbre.

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

And whanne he hadde do bi the word of Balaam, thei puttiden a calf and a ram to gidere on the auter.

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.

And Balaam seide to Balaach, Stond thou a litil while bisidis thi brent sacrifice, while Y go, if in hap the Lord meete me; and Y schal `speke to thee what euer thing he schal comaunde.

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 whanne he hadde go swiftli, God cam to hym; and Balaam spak to hym, and seide, Y reiside seuene auteris, and Y puttide a calf and a ram aboue.

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

Forsothe the Lord `puttide a word in his mouth, and seide, Turne ayen to Balaach, and thou schalt speke these thingis.

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.

He turnede ayen, and fond Balach stondynge bisidis his brent sacrifice, and alle the princes of Moabitis.

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 whanne his parable `was takun, he seide, Balaach, the kyng of Moabitis, brouyte me fro Aran, fro the `hillis of the eest; and he seide, Come thou and curse Jacob; haaste thou, and greetli curse thou Israel.

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

How schal Y curse whom God cursid not? bi what resoun schal Y `haue abhomynable whom God `hath not abhomynable?

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.

Fro the hiyeste flyntis Y schal se hym, and fro litle hillis Y schal biholde hym; the puple schal dwelle aloone, and it schal not be arettid among hethene men.

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 may noumbre the dust, that is, kynrede, of Jacob, and knowe the noumbre of the generacioun of Israel? My lijf die in the deeth of iust men, and my laste thingis be maad lijk hem!

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].

And Balaach seide to Balaam, What is this that thou doist? Y clepide thee, that thou schuldist curse myn enemyes, and ayenward thou blessist hem.

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

To whom Balaam answeride, Whether Y may speke othir thing no but that that the Lord comaundith?

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.

Therfor Balaach seide to Balaam, Come with me in to anothir place, fro whennus thou se a part of Israel, and mayst not se al; fro thennus curse thou hym.

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.

And whanne he hadde led Balaam in to an hiy place, on the cop of the hil of Phasga, he bildide seuene auteris to Balaam, and whanne calues and rammes weren put aboue,

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

he seide to Balaach, Stonde here bisidis thi brent sacrifice, while Y go.

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

And whanne the Lord hadde `come to him, and hadde put `a word in his mouth, he seide, Turne ayen to Balach, and thou schalt seie these thingis to hym.

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?

He turnyde ayen, and foond Balach stondynge bisidis his brent sacrifice, and the princis of Moabitis with hym. To whom Balach seide, What spak the Lord?

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

And whanne his parable `was takun, he seide, Stonde, Balach, and herkene; here, thou sone of Sephor. God is not `as a man,

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]?

that he lye, nethir he is as the sone of a man, that he be chaungid; therfor he seide, and schal he not do? he spak, and schal he not fulfille?

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

Y am brouyt to blesse, Y may not forbede blessyng.

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.

Noon idol is in Jacob, nethir symylacre is seyn in Israel; his Lord God is with hym, and the sown of victorie of kyng is in hym.

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

The Lord God ledde hym out of Egipt, whos strengthe is lijk an vnicorn;

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.

fals tellyng bi chiteryng of bryddis, `ethir idolatrie, is not in Jacob, nethir fals dyuynyng is in Israel. In his tymes it schal be seide to Jacob and Israel, What the Lord hath wrought!

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.

Lo! the puple schal rise to gidere as a lionesse, and schal be reisid as a lioun; the lioun schal not reste, til he deuoure prey, and drynke the blood of hem that ben slayn.

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

And Balach seide to Balaam, Nether curse thou, nether blesse thou hym.

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?

And he seide, Whether Y seide not to thee, that what euer thing that God comaundide to me, Y wolde do this?

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.

And Balach seide to hym, Come, and Y schal lede thee to an other place, if in hap it plesith God that fro thennus thou curse hym.

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

And whanne Balaach hadde led hym out on the `cop of the hil of Phegor, that biholdith the wildirnesse,

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

Balaam seide to hym, Bilde here seuene auteris to me, and make redi so many caluys, and rammes of the same noumbre.

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

Balaach dide as Balaam seide, and he puttide caluys and rammes, bi alle auteris.