Numbers 23

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

Balaam said to King Balak, “Build seven altars for me here. Then kill seven young bulls and seven rams [for a sacrifice].”

2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken, —and Balak and Balaam caused to ascend a bullock and a ram on each altar.

So Balak did that. And then he and Balaam each burned a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice] on each altar.

3 Then said Balaam unto Balak: Station thyself by thine ascending-sacrifice, and let me go my way—peradventure Yahweh may come and meet me, and what thing soever he may show me, I will tell thee. So he went his way to a bare height.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “You stand here close to your burned offerings, and I will go and ask Yahweh if he has something else to tell me. Then I will tell you what he says to me.” Then Balaam went by himself to the top of a hill,

4 And God came unto Balaam, —so he said unto him The seven altars, have I built in a row, and have caused to ascend, bullock and a ram on each altar.

and God appeared to him there. Balaam said to him, “We have built seven altars, and I have killed and burned a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice to you] on each altar.”

5 And Yahweh put a word into the mouth of Balaam, —and said—Return unto Balak, and, thus, shalt thou speak.

Then Yahweh gave Balaam a message to give to King Balak. Then he said, “Go back and tell him what I told you.”

6 So he returned unto him, and lo! he was stationed by his ascending-sacrifice, —he, and all the princes of Moab.

When Balaam returned to Balak, Balak was standing with the leaders from Moab beside the offerings he had burned [on the altar].

7 So he took up his parable and said, —From Aram, doth Balak conduct me, The king of Moab, from the mountains of the East, Come thou! curse me Jacob, Yea, come thou! rage on Israel.

This is the message that Balaam told them: “Balak, the King of Moab, summoned me to come here from Syria; he brought me here from the hills at the eastern side of Syria. He said, ‘Come and curse the descendants of Jacob for me, saying that bad things will happen to these Israeli people!’

8 How can I revile one whom GOD hath not reviled? Yea, how can I rage on one on whom Yahweh hath not raged?

But (how can I curse people whom God has not cursed?/I certainly cannot curse people whom God has not cursed!) [RHQ] (How can I condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned?/I cannot condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned!) [RHQ]

9 Surely from the head of the rocks, do I see him, Yea, from the hills, do I observe him, —Lo! a people, who alone doth dwell, And among the nations, he doth not reckon himself.

I have seen them from the tops of the rocky peaks. I see that they are a group of people who live by themselves; they have separated themselves from other nations.

10 Who hath counted the dust of Jacob? Or who hath numbered the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, And let my hereafter be like his!

(Who can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of (dust/dirt)?/No one can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of (dust/dirt)!) [RHQ] (Who can count even a quarter of the Israeli people?/No one can count even a quarter of the Israeli people!) [RHQ] I wish/hope that I will die like righteous people die; I hope that I will die [peacefully] like they will die.”

11 Then said Balak unto Balaam, What hast thou done for me? To revile mine enemies, I summoned thee, and lo! thou hast kept on blessing.

Then Balak said, “What have you done to me [RHQ]? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead you have (blessed them/asked Yahweh to bless them)!”

12 And he answered and said, —Was it not to be so that whatsoever Yahweh should put into my mouth, the same, should I take heed to speak?

But Balaam replied, “I can [RHQ] say only what Yahweh tells me to say. I cannot say anything else.”

13 Then said Balak unto him—Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see him, nothing but his utmost part, shalt thou see, but all of him, shalt thou not see, —and so revile me him from thence.

Then King Balak told Balaam, “Come with me to another place. There you will see only part of the Israeli people, and you will be able to curse those people for me.”

14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, unto the head of Pisgah, —and built seven altars, and caused to ascend a bullock and a ram on each altar.

So Balak took Balaam to a field on the top of Pisgah [Mountain]. There, again he built seven altars and offered a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice] on each altar.

15 Then said he to Balak, Station thyself here by thine ascending-sacrifice, —while, I, meet him yonder.

Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here close to your burned offerings, while I go and talk with Yahweh.”

16 And Yahweh met Balaam, and put a word into his mouth, —and said—Return unto Balak and thus shalt thou speak.

So Balaam did that, and Yahweh appeared to Balaam again and gave him another message. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and tell him that message.”

17 So he came in unto him and, there he was-stationed by his ascending-sacrifice, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Yahweh spoken?

So Balaam returned to where the king and the leaders from Moab were standing, next to the altar where Balak had burned the sacrifices. Balak asked him, “What did Yahweh say?”

18 Then took he up his parable and said, —Rise, Balak, and hear, Give ear unto me son of Zippor!

Then Balaam told him this message: “Balak, listen carefully; hear what I have to say, you son of Zippor [DOU]!

19 GOD is, not a man, that he should lie, Nor a son of Adam, that he should repent, —Hath, he, said, and will not perform? Yea spoken, and will not make it stand fast?

God is not a human being. Humans lie, but God never lies. He never changes his mind/thoughts, as humans do. Whatever he has said that he will do, he does.

20 Lo! to bless, have I received [command], —And I will bless, nor will I take it back.

He commanded me [to request him] to bless [the Israelis], So he has blessed them, and I cannot change that.

21 He hath not discovered trouble in Jacob, Neither hath he seen wretchedness in Israel, —Yahweh, his God, is with him, And, the acclaim of a king, in his midst:

Yahweh their God is with/helping them; they have declared that he is their true king. So the descendants of Jacob will not be harmed; they will not have any troubles [DOU].

22 GOD having brought them forth out of Egypt, The very horns of the buffalo, are his:

God brought them out of Egypt [where they were slaves]; he is as strong as a wild ox.

23 Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, Nor divination against Israel, —Now, shall it be said—Of Jacob and of Israel, What hath GOD wrought!

When people curse [PRS] the descendants of Jacob, they will not be harmed; when people work sorcery on them, it will have no power. So now people will say about the descendants of Jacob, ‘God has done wonderful things for the Israelis!’

24 Lo, a people, like a lioness, shall rise, And like a strong lion, shall rouse himself up; He will not lie down till he eat the torn, And the blood of the slain, he drink.

They are very strong, like lionesses that are ready to attack [other animals]; they stand firm like lions. The lions refuse to rest until they have [killed and] eaten their prey, and drunk the blood of the animals they slaughtered.”

25 Then said Balak unto Balaam, Thou shalt neither revile, him, —nor bless him.

Then Balak said to Balaam, “If you will not curse them, then [I certainly] do not [want you to] bless them!”

26 And Balaam responded, and said unto Balak, —Spake I not unto thee, saying, All that Yahweh shall speak, that, must I do?

But Balaam replied, “I told you that I must do only what Yahweh tells me to do!”

27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee! let me take thee unto another place, —peradventure, it may be right in the eyes of God, that thou revile me him. from thence.

Then King Balak said to Balaam, “Come with me; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to allow you to curse them from that place.”

28 So Balak took Balaam, —unto the head of Peor, that looketh over the face of the Jeshimon.

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor [Mountain] where they could look down [and see the Israelis in] the desert.

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

Balaam again told Balak, “Build me seven altars again and kill seven young bulls and seven rams [for a sacrifice].”

30 And Balak did as Balaam said, —and caused to ascend a bullock and a ram on each altar.

So Balak did what Balaam told him to do. He burned a young bull and a ram on each altar as sacrifices.