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 to Balac, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven calves, 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 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 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 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 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 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 And Jehovah put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.

And God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, and said, you shall return to Balac, and thus shall you 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 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 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, 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 whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I denounce whom Jehovah doth not denounce?

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

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 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.

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 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 hast thou done to me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.

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

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

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

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

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

And God met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, and said, return to Balac, and thus shall you 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 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 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, rise up, Balac, and hear; listen as a witness, you son of Sepphor.

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

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

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

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

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 divination in Jacob, nor enchantment in Israel; in season it shall be told to Jacob and Israel what God shall perform.

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, 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 them at all, nor bless them at all.

And Balac said to Balaam, Neither curse the people at all for me, 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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