Numbers 23

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

Then Balaam told Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice.”

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

Balak did as Balaam had said, and together they offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 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.

Balaam said to Balak, “Wait here beside your burnt offering while I go and see if perhaps the Lord will come and meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me, I'll share with you.” Then Balaam left to climb up a rocky crag.

4 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.'

God met with him there, and Balaam said. “I have built seven altars and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

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

The Lord gave Balaam a message to share. He told him, “Go back to Balak and this is what you are to say to him.”

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

So he went back to Balak, who was waiting there beside his burnt offering, along with all the Moabite leaders.

7 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.'

This is the declaration that Balaam gave: “Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab brought me from the mountains of the east. He said, ‘Come and curse Jacob for me! Come and condemn Israel!’

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

But how can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I condemn what the Lord has not condemned?

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 I'm looking down on them from the top of rocky crags; I'm watching them from the hills. I see a people who live on their own, different from the other nations.

10 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!

Who can count Jacob's descendants? They are so many they're like dust! Who can count even a quarter of the Israelites? I would like to die as a good person dies! Let the end of my life be like their end!”

11 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.'

Then Balak complained to Balaam, “What on earth have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and now look! All you have done is bless them!”

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

But Balaam replied, “Don't you think I should I say precisely what the Lord tells me?”

13 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.'

Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. But you'll only see a part of their camp—you won't see all of them. You can curse them for me from there.”

14 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.

He took him to the field of Zophim at the top of Mount Pisgah. There he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

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

Balaam told Balak, “Wait here beside your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there.”

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

The Lord met Balaam and gave him a message to share. He told him, “Go back to Balak and this is what you are to say to him.”

17 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?'

So he went back to Balak, who was waiting there beside his burnt offering, along with all the Moabite leaders. “What did the Lord say?” Balak asked.

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

This is the prophecy that Balaam delivered: “Stand up, Balak, and pay attention! Listen to me, son of Zippor!

19 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?

God isn't a human being who would lie. He's not a mere mortal who changes his mind. Does he say he's going to do something but doesn't? Does he make promises he doesn't carry out?

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

Look, I have been ordered to give a blessing. God has blessed, and I can't change that.

21 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.

He's not expecting anything bad will happen to Jacob; he doesn't foresee any trouble for Israel. The Lord their God is with them; they celebrate him as their king.

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

God led them out of Egypt with great power, as strong as an ox.

23 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!'

No spell can be cast against Jacob; no magic can be used against Israel. People will talk about Jacob and Israel, saying, ‘What amazing things God has done for them!’

24 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.

Look! The Israelites go out hunting like a lioness; they chase like a lion. They don't rest until they eat their prey, and drink the blood of their dead victim.”

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

Then Balak said to Balaam, “If you can't give them any curses then at least don't give them any blessings!”

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

But Balaam replied, “Didn't I explain to you that I have to do whatever the Lord tells me?”

27 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.'

“Please come with me and I will take you somewhere else,” Balak said. “Maybe God would let you curse them for me from there.”

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

Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which looks down on the wastelands.

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

Balaam told Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice.”

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

Balak what Balaam told him, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.