< Numbers 23 >
1 And Bil'am 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 Bil'am had spoken; and Balak and Bil'am offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
And Balac did as Balaam told him; and he offered up a calf and a ram on [every] altar.
3 And Bil'am said unto Balak, Place thyself by thy burnt-offering; and I will go, peradventure the Lord will come to meet me, and whatsoever he may show me I will tell thee: and he went thoughtfully alone.
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 Bil'am: and he said unto him, The seven altars have I made ready, and I have offered a bullock and a ram upon 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 Bil'am's mouth, and said, Return unto 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 unto him, and, lo, 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, From Aram did Balak send for me, the king of Moab, out of the mountains of the east, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy 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 denounce, whom God hath not denounced? and how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?
How can I curse whom the Lord curses not? or how can I devote whom God devotes not?
9 For from the top of rocks I see him, and from hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that shall dwell alone, and among the nations it shall not be reckoned.
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 count the dust of Jacob, and number the fourth part of Israel? May my soul die the death of the righteous, and may my last 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 Bil'am, What hast thou done unto me? to denounce my enemies did I take thee, and, behold, thou hast even blessed 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 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that only which the Lord may put 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 where thou canst see them; nevertheless a portion of them only wilt thou see, but the whole of them thou wilt not see: and denounce them for me 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 he brought him to the field of the watchmen, on the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars, and offered 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, Place thyself here by thy burnt-offering, while I will repair to yonder place.
And Balaam said to Balac, Stand by your sacrifice, and I will go to enquire of God.
16 And the Lord met Bil'am, 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, behold, he was standing 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, Rise up, Balak, and hear; bend hither thy ear 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; nor a son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? and hath he spoken, and shall he not fulfill it?
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, to bless I have received [the word]; 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 any wrong in Jacob, nor hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the glory of the king dwelleth among 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, who brought them out of Egypt, is to them like the heights of the reem.
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 in Jacob, nor is there any divination in Israel: at the proper time shall it be said to Jacob and to Israel, what God doth work.
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, it is a people, that shall rise up as a lioness, and as a lion shall it raise itself: it will not lie down until it have eaten the prey, and have 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 unto Bil'am, Neither shalt thou denounce them, nor shalt thou any wise bless them.
And Balac said to Balaam, Neither curse the people at all for me, nor bless them at all.
26 But Bil'am answered and said unto Balak, Have I not spoken unto thee, saying, all that the Lord will speak, that must 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 unto Bil'am, Come, I pray thee, I will take thee unto another place, peradventure it may be pleasing in the eyes of God that thou mayest denounce them for me 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 Balak took Bil'am unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward the desert.
And Balac took Balaam to the top of Phogor, which extends to the wilderness.
29 And Bil'am 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 Bil'am had said, and he offered 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.