Numbers 23

1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”

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

2 And when he had acted according to the words of Balaam, they placed a calf and a ram together on each altar.

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 for a little while next to your holocaust, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet with me. And whatever he will command, I shall speak to you.”

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 after he had quickly departed, God met with him. And Balaam, speaking to him, said: “I have set up seven altars, and I have placed a calf and a ram on each.”

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 Then the Lord placed the word in his mouth, and he said: “Return to Balak, and you shall say this.”

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

6 Returning, he found Balak standing next to his holocaust, with all the leaders of the Moabites.

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 taking up his parable, he said: “Balak, king of the Moabites, has led me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come forth,’ he said, ‘and curse Jacob. Hurry and condemn 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 him, whom God has not cursed? For what reason would I condemn him, whom the Lord does not condemn?

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

9 I will look upon him from the tops of the stones, and I will consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and they shall not be counted 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 number the dust that is Jacob, and who can know the number of the stock of Israel? May my soul die a just death, and may my end be like theirs.”

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 is this that you are doing? I called for you, in order to curse my enemies, and to the contrary, you bless them.”

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 He answered him, “How can I say anything other than what the Lord orders?”

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

13 Therefore, Balak said: “Come with me to another place, from where you may see a portion of Israel, though you cannot see them all. Curse them 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 when he had led him to a lofty place, on the top of mount Pisgah, Balaam built seven altars, and placing upon each a calf and a ram,

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 he said to Balak, “Stand here next to your holocaust, while I continue on to meet him.”

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

16 And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said, “Return to Balak, and you shall say this to him.”

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

17 Returning, he found him standing next to his holocaust, and the leaders of the Moabites were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord 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 But, taking up his parable, he said: “Stand, Balak, and pay attention. Listen, you 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 like a man, so that he would lie, nor is he like a son of man, so that he would be changed. Therefore, having spoken, will he not act? Has he ever spoken, and not fulfilled?

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 I was led here to bless, and I have no strength to hinder the blessing.

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

21 There is no idol in Jacob; neither is there a false image to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the resound of royal victory is in him.

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 has led him away from Egypt; his strength is like that of the rhinoceros.

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

23 There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor any divination in Israel. In their times, it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God has 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 will rise up like a lioness, and lie down like a lion. But they will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink 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 him, nor bless him.”

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

26 And he said, “Have I not told you that whatever God would command of me, I would 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 him: “Come and I will lead you to another place. If perhaps it may please God, then you may curse them 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 when he had led him on to the top of mount Peor, which looks out toward the wilderness,

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

29 Balaam said to him, “Build seven altars here for me, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.”

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

30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and he placed on each altar a calf and a ram.

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