Numbers 23

1 And Balaam said unto 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 spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.

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

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 he said unto Him: 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every 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 the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said: 'Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt 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 unto him, and, lo, he stood 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: From Aram Balak bringeth me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: 'Come, curse me Jacob, and come, execrate 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? And how shall I execrate, whom the LORD hath not execrated?

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 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 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 unto Balaam: 'What hast thou done unto 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 the LORD putteth 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 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.'

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 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.

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

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

16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said: 'Return unto 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, lo, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him: 'What hath 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 And he took up his parable, and said: Arise, Balak, and hear; give ear unto me, thou 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 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 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 am bidden to bless; and when He hath blessed, I cannot call it back.

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

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.

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

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 with Jacob, neither is there any divination with Israel; now is it 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 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.

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 unto 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 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak: 'Told not I thee, saying: All that the LORD speaketh, that I must 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 unto Balaam: 'Come now, I will take thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest 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 took Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh down upon the desert.

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

29 And Balaam said unto 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 every altar.

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