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 unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.'

2 And Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered up a bullock and a ram on [each] altar.

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

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 shews me I will tell thee. And he went to a hill.

And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go; peradventure the LORD will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee.' And he went to a bare height.

4 And God met Balaam; and [Balaam] said to him, I have disposed seven altars, and have offered up a bullock and a ram upon [each] altar.

And God met Balaam; and he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar.'

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

And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.'

6 And he returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab.

And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab.

7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, curse me Jacob, and come, denounce Israel!

And he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak bringeth me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, and come, execrate Israel.'

8 How shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I denounce whom Jehovah doth not denounce?

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I execrate, whom the LORD hath not execrated?

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

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

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

Who hath counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered the stock of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let mine end be like his!

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

And Balak said unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.'

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

And he answered and said: 'Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD putteth in my mouth?'

13 And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from whence thou wilt see them; thou shalt see only the extremity of them and shalt not see them all, and curse me them from thence.

And Balak said unto him: 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them; thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all; and curse me them from thence.'

14 And he took him to the watchmen's field, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bullock and a ram on [each] altar.

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.

15 And [Balaam] said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, and I will go to meet yonder.

And he said unto Balak: 'Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I go toward a meeting yonder.'

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

And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.'

17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him; and Balak said to him, What has Jehovah spoken?

And he came to him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath the LORD spoken?'

18 Then he took up his parable and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear! hearken unto me, son of Zippor!

And he took up his parable, and said: Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear unto me, thou son of Zippor:

19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither a son of man, that he should repent. Shall he say and not do? and shall he speak and not make it good?

God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: when He hath said, will He not do it? or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?

20 Behold, I have received [mission] to bless; and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

Behold, I am bidden to bless; and when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back.

21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen wrong in Israel; Jehovah his God is with him, and the shout of a king is in his midst.

None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them.

22 God brought him out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a buffalo.

God who brought them forth out of Egypt is for them like the lofty horns of the wild-ox.

23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. At this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!

For there is no enchantment with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel; now is it said of Jacob and of Israel: 'What hath God wrought!'

24 Lo, the people will rise up as a lioness, and lift himself up as a lion. He shall not lie down until he have eaten the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.

Behold a people that riseth up as a lioness, and as a lion doth he lift himself up; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

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

And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.'

26 And Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Jehovah shall speak, that will I do?

But Balaam answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?'

27 And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee to another place; perhaps it will be right in the sight of God that thou curse me them from thence.

And Balak said unto Balaam: 'Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.'

28 And Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, which looks over the surface of the waste.

And Balak took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert.

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

And Balaam said unto Balak: 'Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.'

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

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