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 seide to Balaach, Bilde thou here to me seuene auteris, and make redi so many caluys, and rammes of the same noumbre.

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

And whanne he hadde do bi the word of Balaam, thei puttiden a calf and a ram to gidere on the auter.

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 seide to Balaach, Stond thou a litil while bisidis thi brent sacrifice, while Y go, if in hap the Lord meete me; and Y schal `speke to thee what euer thing he schal comaunde.

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 whanne he hadde go swiftli, God cam to hym; and Balaam spak to hym, and seide, Y reiside seuene auteris, and Y puttide a calf and a ram aboue.

5 And the Lord put a word in Bil'am's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.

Forsothe the Lord `puttide a word in his mouth, and seide, Turne ayen to Balaach, and thou schalt speke these thingis.

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

He turnede ayen, and fond Balach stondynge bisidis his brent sacrifice, and alle the princes of Moabitis.

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 whanne his parable `was takun, he seide, Balaach, the kyng of Moabitis, brouyte me fro Aran, fro the `hillis of the eest; and he seide, Come thou and curse Jacob; haaste thou, and greetli curse thou Israel.

8 How shall I denounce, whom God hath not denounced? and how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?

How schal Y curse whom God cursid not? bi what resoun schal Y `haue abhomynable whom God `hath not abhomynable?

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.

Fro the hiyeste flyntis Y schal se hym, and fro litle hillis Y schal biholde hym; the puple schal dwelle aloone, and it schal not be arettid among hethene men.

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 may noumbre the dust, that is, kynrede, of Jacob, and knowe the noumbre of the generacioun of Israel? My lijf die in the deeth of iust men, and my laste thingis be maad lijk hem!

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 Balaach seide to Balaam, What is this that thou doist? Y clepide thee, that thou schuldist curse myn enemyes, and ayenward thou blessist hem.

12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that only which the Lord may put in my mouth?

To whom Balaam answeride, Whether Y may speke othir thing no but that that the Lord comaundith?

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.

Therfor Balaach seide to Balaam, Come with me in to anothir place, fro whennus thou se a part of Israel, and mayst not se al; fro thennus curse thou hym.

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 whanne he hadde led Balaam in to an hiy place, on the cop of the hil of Phasga, he bildide seuene auteris to Balaam, and whanne calues and rammes weren put aboue,

15 And he said unto Balak, Place thyself here by thy burnt-offering, while I will repair to yonder place.

he seide to Balaach, Stonde here bisidis thi brent sacrifice, while Y go.

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 whanne the Lord hadde `come to him, and hadde put `a word in his mouth, he seide, Turne ayen to Balach, and thou schalt seie these thingis to hym.

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?

He turnyde ayen, and foond Balach stondynge bisidis his brent sacrifice, and the princis of Moabitis with hym. To whom Balach seide, What spak the Lord?

18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; bend hither thy ear unto me, son of Zippor!

And whanne his parable `was takun, he seide, Stonde, Balach, and herkene; here, thou sone of Sephor. God is not `as a man,

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?

that he lye, nethir he is as the sone of a man, that he be chaungid; therfor he seide, and schal he not do? he spak, and schal he not fulfille?

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

Y am brouyt to blesse, Y may not forbede blessyng.

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.

Noon idol is in Jacob, nethir symylacre is seyn in Israel; his Lord God is with hym, and the sown of victorie of kyng is in hym.

22 God, who brought them out of Egypt, is to them like the heights of the reem.

The Lord God ledde hym out of Egipt, whos strengthe is lijk an vnicorn;

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.

fals tellyng bi chiteryng of bryddis, `ethir idolatrie, is not in Jacob, nethir fals dyuynyng is in Israel. In his tymes it schal be seide to Jacob and Israel, What the Lord hath wrought!

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.

Lo! the puple schal rise to gidere as a lionesse, and schal be reisid as a lioun; the lioun schal not reste, til he deuoure prey, and drynke the blood of hem that ben slayn.

25 And Balak said unto Bil'am, Neither shalt thou denounce them, nor shalt thou any wise bless them.

And Balach seide to Balaam, Nether curse thou, nether blesse thou hym.

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 he seide, Whether Y seide not to thee, that what euer thing that God comaundide to me, Y wolde do this?

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 Balach seide to hym, Come, and Y schal lede thee to an other place, if in hap it plesith God that fro thennus thou curse hym.

28 And Balak took Bil'am unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward the desert.

And whanne Balaach hadde led hym out on the `cop of the hil of Phegor, that biholdith the wildirnesse,

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

Balaam seide to hym, Bilde here seuene auteris to me, and make redi so many caluys, and rammes of the same noumbre.

30 And Balak did as Bil'am had said, and he offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

Balaach dide as Balaam seide, and he puttide caluys and rammes, bi alle auteris.