Bamidbar 22-24

Orthodox Jewish Bible

[BALAK]

22 And the Bnei Yisroel set forward, and encamped in the plains of Moav on the bank of the Yarden by Yericho.

² And Balak ben Tzippor saw all that Yisroel had done to the Emori.

³ And Moav was exceedingly afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moav was filled with dread because of the Bnei Yisroel.

⁴ And Moav said unto the Ziknei Midyan, Now shall this kahal lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the sadeh. And Balak ben Tzippor was Melech of Moav at that time.

⁵ He sent malachim (messengers) therefore unto Balaam ben Beor to Petor, which is by the River [Euphrates] in his native land, to summon him, saying, Hinei, there is a people come out from Mitzrayim; hinei, they cover the face of ha’aretz, and they are settling next to me;

⁶ Come now, therefore, please, curse for me this people; for they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of ha’aretz; for I know that he whom thou blessest is m’vorach (blessed), and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

⁷ And the Ziknei Moav and the Ziknei Midyan departed with the divination remuneration in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the words of Balak.

⁸ And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Hashem shall speak unto me; and the sarim of Moav abode with Balaam.

⁹ And Elohim came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

¹⁰ And Balaam said unto HaElohim, Balak ben Tzippor, Melech Moav, hath sent unto me, saying,

¹¹ Hinei, there is a people come out of Mitzrayim, which covereth the face of ha’aretz; come now, curse for me them; perhaps I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

¹² And Elohim said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for baruch hu (it [the people] is blessed).

¹³ And Balaam rose up in the boker, and said unto the sarim of Balak, Go back to your land; for Hashem refuseth to give me permission to go with you.

¹⁴ And the sarim of Moav rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.

¹⁵ And Balak sent yet again sarim, more, and more distinguished than they.

¹⁶ And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak ben Tzippor, Let nothing, please, hinder thee from coming unto me;

¹⁷ For I will exceedingly reward thee, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me; come, therefore, please, curse for me this people.

¹⁸ And Balaam answered and said unto the avadei Balak, If Balak would give me his palace full of kesef and zahav, I cannot go beyond the Devar Hashem Elohai, to do ketanah or gedolah.

¹⁹ Now, therefore, please, tarry ye also here this night, that I may have da’as of what more Hashem will say unto me.

²⁰ And it was lailah when Elohim came unto Balaam, and said unto him, Since the men come to summon thee, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

²¹ And Balaam rose up in the boker, and saddled his donkey, and went with the sarim (princes) of Moav.

²² But the Af Elohim (G-d’s anger) was kindled as he was going; and the Malach Hashem stood in the derech (road) l’satan (for an adversary, opposer) against him. Now he was riding upon his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

²³ And the donkey saw the Malach Hashem standing in the derech, and his cherev drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned off the derech, and went into the sadeh; and Balaam beat the donkey, to turn her back onto the derech.

²⁴ But the Malach Hashem stood in the closed-in path among the kramim (vineyards), a wall being on this side, a wall on that side.

²⁵ And when the donkey saw the Malach Hashem, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s regel against the wall; and he beat her again.

²⁶ And the Malach Hashem went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no derech to turn either to the right or to the left.

²⁷ And when the donkey saw the Malach Hashem, she lay down under Balaam; and af Balaam was kindled, and he beat the donkey with his staff.

²⁸ And Hashem opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast beaten me these shalosh regalim (three times)?

²⁹ And Balaam answered the donkey, Because thou hast mocked me; If only there were a cherev in mine hand, would I have killed thee.

³⁰ And the donkey said unto Balaam, Am not I thine donkey, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so unto thee? And he said, Loh.

³¹ Then Hashem opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Malach Hashem standing in the derech, and his cherev drawn in his hand; and he bowed down his head, and fell facedown.

³² And the Malach Hashem said unto him, Why hast thou beaten thine donkey these shalosh regalim? Hinei, I came l’satan (as adversary, opposer) to thee, because thy derech is perverse before me;

³³ And the donkey saw me, and turned from me these shalosh regalim; had she not turned from me, surely now also I would have slain thee, and saved her alive.

³⁴ And Balaam said unto the Malach Hashem, Chatati (I have sinned); for I was without da’as that thou stoodest in the derech against me; now, therefore, if it displease thee, I will return home.

³⁵ And the Malach Hashem said unto Balaam, Go with the anashim; but only the devar (message) that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the sarim (princes) of Balak.

³⁶ And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto the city of Moav at the Arnon border, which is in the farthest point of the boundary.

³⁷ And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to summon thee? Why camest thou not unto me? Am I not able indeed to honor thee?

³⁸ And Balaam said unto Balak, Hinei, I am come unto thee; have I now any power at all to say anything? The devar (word, message) which Elohim putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

³⁹ And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kiryat Chutzot.

⁴⁰ And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the sarim that were with him.

⁴¹ And it came to pass on the next day, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up on the high places of Baal, that thence he might see a portion of HaAm.

23 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here shivah mizbechot, and prepare for me here shivah bulls and shivah rams.

² And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on each mizbe’ach a bull and a ram.

³ And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy olah, and I will go; perhaps Hashem will come to meet me; and whatsoever He showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a barren height.

⁴ And Elohim met Balaam, and he said unto Him, I have prepared shivah hamizbechot, and I have offered upon each mizbe’ach a bull and a ram.

⁵ And Hashem put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.

⁶ And he returned unto him, and, hinei, he stood by his olah, he, and all the sarim of Moav.

⁷ And he took up his mashal, and said, Balak Melech Moav hath brought me from Aram (Syria), out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse for me Ya’akov, and come, denounce Yisroel.

⁸ How shall I curse, whom El hath not cursed? Or how shall I denounce, whom Hashem hath not denounced?

⁹ For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the heights I behold him; see, the people shall live apart, and shall not be reckoned among the Goyim.

¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Ya’akov, and the number of the fourth part of Yisroel? Let my nefesh die the death of the yesharim (righteous ones), and let my latter end be like his!

¹¹ And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I brought thee to curse mine enemies, and, hinei, thou hast altogether put a brocha on them.

¹² And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which Hashem hath put in my mouth?

¹³ And Balak said unto him, Come with me unto another place, from where thou mayest see them; thou shalt see part but not all of them, and curse them for me from there.

¹⁴ And he brought him into the sadeh of Tzophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built shivah mizbechot, and offered a bull and a ram on each mizbe’ach.

¹⁵ And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy olah, while I meet Hashem over there.

¹⁶ And Hashem met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.

¹⁷ And when he came to him, hinei, he stood by his olah, and the sarim of Moav with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath Hashem spoken?

¹⁸ And he took up his mashal, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; pay heed unto me, thou son of Tzippor.

¹⁹ El is not an ish, that He should lie; neither a ben adam, that He should change His mind; hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not carry it out?

²⁰ Hinei, I have received commandment to make brocha; and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

²¹ He hath not beheld avon in Ya’akov, neither hath He seen amal (trouble) in Yisroel. Hashem Elohav is with him, and the [jubilant] shout of a melech is about him.

²² El brought them out of Mitzrayim; He is for them like the strength of a wild ox.

²³ Surely there is no nachash (augury) in Ya’akov; neither is there any kesem (divination) in Yisroel; at the time it is spoken to Ya’akov and to Yisroel what El doeth!

²⁴ See, the people shall rise up as a lioness, and lift up himself as an ari; he shall not lie down until he devours the prey, and drinks the dahm of the slain.

²⁵ And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor at all make a brocha on them.

²⁶ But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that Hashem speaketh, that I must do?

²⁷ And Balak said unto Balaam, Come now, I will bring thee unto another place; perhaps it will please HaElohim that thou mayest curse them for me from there.

²⁸ And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that overlooks Yeshimon.

²⁹ And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here shivah mizbechot, and prepare here shivah bulls and shivah rams for me.

³⁰ And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each mizbe’ach.

24 And when Balaam saw that it was tov in the eyes of Hashem to bless Yisroel, he went not, as at other times, to use nechashim (sorceries, divination, looking for omens) but he set his face toward hamidbar.

² And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Yisroel encamped according to their Shevatim; and the Ruach Elohim came upon him.

³ And he took up his mashal, and said, Balaam ben Beor hath said, the man whose eyes are open hath said,

⁴ He hath said which heard the words of El, which saw the machazeh Shaddai (vision of Shaddai), which falling prostrate, but having his eyes open:

⁵ Mah tovu ohalecha (How goodly, beautiful, are thy tents), O Ya’akov, and mishkenotecha (thy dwellings, tabernacles), O Yisroel!

⁶ As the valleys are they [the tents of Yisroel] spread forth, as ganot (gardens) by the riverside, like aloes which Hashem hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the mayim.

⁷ He shall pour the [rainfall] mayim out of his buckets, and his zera shall have mayim rabbim, and his Melech shall be more exalted than Agag, and Malchuso (His Kingdom) shall be upraised.

⁸ El brought him forth out of Mitzrayim. He hath the strength of a wild bull. He shall devour the Goyim his enemies and break their atzmot, and pierce them through with his khitzim.

⁹ He crouched, he lay down as an ari, and as the lioness; who shall stir him up? Mevarakhecha is he that makes a barucha on thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.

¹⁰ And af Balak (anger of Balak) was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam, I summoned thee to curse mine enemies, and, hinei, thou hast altogether blessed them these shalosh p’amim.

¹¹ Therefore now flee thou to thy mekom; I thought to kibed (honor, reward) thee honorably; but, hinei, Hashem hath kept thee back from kavod (honor, reward).

¹² And Balaam said unto Balak, Spoke I not also to thy malachim which thou didst send unto me, saying,

¹³ If Balak would give me his bais full of kesef and zahav, I cannot go beyond the commandment of Hashem, to do either tovah or ra’ah of mine own lev; but what Hashem saith, that will I say!

¹⁴ And now, hinei, I go back unto my people; come therefore, and I will warn thee what HaAm HaZeh shall do to thy people in the Acharit HaYamim.

¹⁵ And he took up his mashal, and said, Balaam ben Beor hath said, the man whose eyes are open hath said,

¹⁶ He hath said, which heard the words of El, and knew the Da’as Elyon, which saw the Machazeh Shaddai, falling prostrate, but having his eyes open:

¹⁷ I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not karov (near); there shall come a Kokhav (Star, i.e. Moshiach, see Targums) out of Ya’akov, and a Shevet (Sceptre) shall rise out of Yisroel, and shall strike through the temples (i.e., sides of the head) of Moav, and destroy all the Bnei Shet.

¹⁸ And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; but Yisroel shall do valiantly.

¹⁹ Out of Ya’akov shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the Ir.

²⁰ And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his mashal, and said, Amalek was the reshit of the Goyim; but his acharit (latter end) shall be that unto destruction.

²¹ And he looked on the Keini (Kenites), and took up his mashal, and said, Strong is thy moshav (dwelling place), and thou puttest thy ken (nest) in a rock.

²² Nevertheless Kayin shall be for burning, while Asshur (Assyria) shall carry thee away captive.

²³ And he took up his mashal, and said, Oy, who shall live when El doeth this?

²⁴ And ships shall come from the coast of Kittim (Cyprus), and shall afflict Asshur (Assyria), and shall afflict 'Ever (i.e., Region beyond the River [Euphrates]), and he also shall be unto destruction.

²⁵ And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his makom (place, home); and Balak also went his way.