Numbers 23
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Speaks Through Balaam
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2 So Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.
4 Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then Yahweh (A)put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.” 6 So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7 Then he took up his [a]discourse and said,
“From (B)Aram Balak has brought me,
Moab’s king from the mountains of the East,
‘(C)Come curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’
8 (D)How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced?
9 For I see him from the top of the rocks,
And I look at him from the hills;
(E)Behold, a people who dwells alone,
And will not be reckoned among the nations.
10 (F)Who can number the dust of Jacob,
Or count the fourth part of Israel?
(G)Let [b]me die the death of the upright,
(H)And let my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? (I)I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly!” 12 And he replied, “Must I not be careful to speak (J)what Yahweh puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Discourse
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, but you will only see the end of them and will not see all of them; and curse them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet Yahweh over there.” 16 Then Yahweh met Balaam and (K)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has Yahweh spoken?” 18 Then he took up his [c]discourse and said,
“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19 (L)God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
(M)Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
(N)When He has blessed, then (O)I cannot revoke it.
21 (P)He has not observed [d]misfortune in Jacob;
(Q)Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
(R)Yahweh his God is with him,
(S)And the shout of a king is among them.
22 (T)God brings them out of Egypt,
He is for them like the (U)horns of the wild ox.
23 (V)For there is no omen against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel;
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what God has done!
24 (W)Behold, a people rises like a lioness,
And as a lion it lifts itself;
It will not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!” 26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘(X)Whatever Yahweh speaks, that I must do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be right in the eyes of God that you curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor which overlooks the [e]wasteland. 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30 And Balak did just as Balaam had said and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:7 Lit parable
- Numbers 23:10 Lit my soul
- Numbers 23:18 Lit parable
- Numbers 23:21 Or wickedness
- Numbers 23:28 Or Jeshimon
Numbers 23
International Standard Version
Balaam’s First Sacrifice
23 Balaam told Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare here for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 So Balak did just as Balaam instructed. Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam instructed Balak, “Stand by your offering and leave me alone by myself. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. I’ll tell you whatever he reveals to me.”
And so he went to a high place, 4 where the Lord met with Balaam, who told him, “I’ve prepared seven altars and offered bulls and rams on an altar.”
5 Then the Lord gave Balaam this message. “Return to Balak and speak to him.”
6 So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by all the Moabite officials.
Balaam’s First Prophecy
7 Then Balaam uttered this prophetic statement:
“King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram,
from the eastern mountains,
and told me,
‘Come and curse Jacob for me.
Come and curse Israel.’
8 But how can I curse those whom God hasn’t cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the Lord hasn’t denounced?
9 I saw them from the top of the rocks.
I watched them from the hills.
Truly this is a people that lives by itself
and doesn’t matter[a] among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob?
Who can number the dust of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
and may I end up like him.”
11 “What are you doing to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, not pronounce a blessing!”
12 But in response, Balaam asked, “Shouldn’t I be careful to communicate only what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Sacrifice
13 “Come with me to another place where you can see them,” Balak replied. “You’ll only see a portion of them, because you won’t be able to see them completely. Come and curse them from there for me.”
14 So Balak[b] took him to the field of Zophim, and from there to the top of Mount[c] Pisgah, where he built seven altars and then offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Then he told Balak, “Stand by your offering while I go alone to meet the Lord.”[d]
16 Then the Lord met with Balaam and gave a message to him. “Now go back to Balak and speak to him.” 17 So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by the Moabite officials.
“What did the Lord say?” Balak asked him.
Balaam’s Second Prophecy
18 In response, Balaam uttered this prophetic statement:
“Stand up, Balak, and pay attention!
Listen to me, you son of Zippor!
19 God is not a human male—
he doesn’t lie,
nor is he a human being—
he never vacillates.
Once he speaks up,
he’s going to act, isn’t he?
Once he makes a promise,
he’ll fulfill it, won’t he?
20 Look! I’ve received a blessing,
and so I will bless.
I won’t withdraw it.
21 He has not responded to iniquity in Jacob
or gazed at mischief in Israel.
The Lord his God is with them,
and the triumphant cry of a king is among them.
22 From Egypt God brought them—
his strength was like a wild ox!
23 No Satanic plan against Jacob
nor divination against Israel
can ever prevail.
When the time is right,
it is to be asked about Jacob and Israel,
‘What has God accomplished?’
24 Look! The people are like lions.
Like the lion, he rises up!
He does not lie down again
until he has consumed his prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”
25 Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them or bless them!”
26 “Didn’t I tell you,” Balaam responded to Balak, “that I’ll say whatever the Lord tells me to say?”
Balaam’s Third Sacrifice
27 So Balak exhorted Balaam, “Let’s go right now! I’ll take you to another place. Maybe God will agree to have you curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount[e] Peor, which overlooks the open wilderness.[f]
29 Balaam told Balak, “Build seven altars for me right here. Then prepare seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 Balak did just what Balaam had instructed—he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Footnotes
- Numbers 23:9 Lit. count
- Numbers 23:14 Lit. he
- Numbers 23:14 The Heb. lacks Mount
- Numbers 23:15 The Heb. lacks with the Lord
- Numbers 23:28 The Heb. lacks Mount
- Numbers 23:28 Lit. the Jeshimon; a desert wasteland not suitable for agriculture or human habitation
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