Numbers 23

1 And Balaam saith unto Balak, 'Build for me in this [place] seven altars, and make ready for me in this [place] seven bullocks and seven rams.'

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

2 And Balak doth as Balaam hath spoken, and Balak — Balaam also — offereth a bullock and a ram on the altar,

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

3 and Balaam saith to Balak, 'Station thyself by thy burnt-offering and I go on, it may be Jehovah doth come to meet me, and the thing which He sheweth me — I have declared to thee;' and he goeth [to] a high place.

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.

4 And God cometh unto Balaam, and he saith unto Him, 'The seven altars I have arranged, and I offer a bullock and a ram on the altar;'

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.

5 and Jehovah putteth a word in the mouth of Balaam, and saith, 'Turn back unto Balak, and thus thou dost speak.'

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

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

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

7 And he taketh up his simile, and saith: 'From Aram he doth lead me — Balak king of Moab; From mountains of the east: Come — curse for me Jacob, And come — be indignant [with] Israel.

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.

8 What — do I pierce? — God hath not pierced! And what — am I indignant? — Jehovah hath not been indignant!

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

9 For from the top of rocks I see it, And from heights I behold it; Lo a people! alone it doth tabernacle, And among nations doth not reckon itself.

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.

10 Who hath counted the dust of Jacob, And the number of the fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of upright ones, And let my last end be like his!'

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!

11 And Balak saith unto Balaam, 'What hast thou done to me? to pierce mine enemies I have taken thee — and lo, thou hast certainly blessed;'

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.

12 and he answereth and saith, 'That which Jehovah doth put in my mouth — it do I not take heed to speak?'

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

13 And Balak saith unto him, 'Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, whence thou dost see it, only its extremity thou dost see, and all of it thou dost not see, and pierce it for me thence;'

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.

14 and he taketh him [to] the field of Zophim, unto the top of Pisgah, and buildeth seven altars, and offereth a bullock and a ram on the altar.

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.

15 And he saith unto Balak, 'Station thyself here by thy burnt-offering, and I — I meet [Him] there;'

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

16 and Jehovah cometh unto Balaam, and setteth a word in his mouth, and saith, 'Turn back unto Balak, and thus thou dost speak.'

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

17 And he cometh unto him, and lo, he is standing by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him, and Balak saith to him: 'What hath Jehovah spoken?'

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?

18 And he taketh up his simile, and saith: 'Rise, Balak, and hear; Give ear unto me, son of Zippor!

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

19 God [is] not a man — and lieth, And a son of man — and repenteth! Hath He said — and doth He not do [it]? And spoken — and doth He not confirm it?

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?

20 Lo, to bless I have received: Yea, He blesseth, and I [can] not reverse it.

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

21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Nor hath He seen perverseness in Israel; Jehovah his God [is] with him, And a shout of a king [is] in him.

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.

22 God is bringing them out from Egypt, As the swiftness of a Reem is to him;

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

23 For no enchantment [is] against Jacob, Nor divination against Israel, At the time it is said of Jacob and Israel, What hath God wrought!

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.

24 Lo, the people as a lioness riseth, And as a lion he lifteth himself up, He lieth not down till he eateth prey, And blood of pierced ones doth drink.'

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.

25 And Balak saith unto Balaam, 'Neither pierce it at all, nor bless it at all;'

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

26 and Balaam answereth and saith unto Balak, 'Have I not spoken unto thee, saying, All that Jehovah speaketh — it I do?'

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.

27 And Balak saith unto Balaam, 'Come, I pray thee, I take thee unto another place; it may be it is right in the eyes of God — to pierce it for me from thence.'

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.

28 And Balak taketh Balaam to the top of Peor, which is looking on the front of the wilderness,

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

29 and Balaam saith unto Balak, 'Build for me in this [place] seven altars, and make ready for me in this [place] seven bullocks and seven rams;'

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

30 and Balak doth as Balaam said, and he offereth a bullock and a ram on an altar.

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